24 Season Zero: Day of Reckoning
by Cole Ortiz
Summary: Years before Nightfall, Jack Bauer was a young soldier on his final tour of duty. When Muslim terrorists launch a savage attack and a threat of unimaginable proportions arises, lives will be changed forever, and a reluctant new hero will be drawn into his destiny. This is the day that made Jack Bauer who he is.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Niote – This story will be more prose than the others and explores Jack's past and is written in a different style. Think of this as an origins story, about how an innocent, naive, inexperienced young US Army private becomes the hero we know as Jack Bauer. The heart of the story is the one single day that sets Jack on the unstoppable path to who he becomes and affects the fates of so many other characters, but this is NOT real time and things happen before and after the "Day of Reckoning" when everything comes to a head. This is not REALLY a crossover but the President of the United States here is Jack Ryan, from the Tom Clancy novels. _

_This story starts out relatively gentle compared to my other ones, but when the action begins, it will be relentless and not let up. Be forewarned this is a very dark story even compared to my other ones. The research about the setting is mostly Wikipedia and Google maps and the travels of 3 friends none of whom come from a military or intelligence background. This story is set MANY years in the past, but pardon the anachronisms since its set in today's geopolitical climate and features today's technology. Jack is supposed to be 22 or 23 years old in this story. Unlike some of my other stories this is NOT meant to really make a political statement even though its set against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is not about the root causes of the conflict, how much blame I place on either side, etc. This is a thriller that I chose to set in that part of the world. _

_Like many fans I also didn't like how they made Jack's family background and Philip Bauer, but I try to put a perspective to all that and tie it into the past of Jack Bauer and other characters featured in later seasons. I hope y'all enjoy the ride even though unlike my other stories it's clear how things end up so like the writers of Star Wars episode 1 I know the future, this is about getting there. If I write this correctly, you will NOT want Jack to be who he becomes, but still accept why that's inevitable. _

LATE OCTOBER. AIRBORNE OVER CENTRAL EUROPE, 11 YEARS BEFORE OPERATION NIGHTFALL

Jack Bauer drifted in and out of sleep as the Delta Airlines 747 jetliner sailed smoothly through the dark night sky at cruising altitude. Jack was used to planes, having traveled extensively with his father on his business trips and vacations around the United States and internationally but this trip was different. He looked around the mostly darkened economy cabin where most of the passengers were asleep. The computerized monitors showing the plane's position showed them as somewhere over the Bavarian Alps of Germany but he could see nothing as he lifted the shades and glanced outside the window in the pitch black. Flying east across what seemed like a dozen time zones and getting up at 4 AM in Los Angeles felt like forever, maybe even longer that it actually was. Jack had taken an early morning AirTran flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, then transferred to Delta for the second leg that would take him halfway around the world. His mind couldn't help drifting back, especially to the night before. He would have some serious decisions to make in his life, decisions most people his age had made already, but his father's wealth and the Bauer family's privileges had afforded him more time. But in the next few months, as his final tour of duty in the United States Army ended, he would have to make a decision that would determine the rest of his life.

THE NIGHT BEFORE – BAUER RESIDENCE, SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

Jack had just walked to the printer in his room, getting his copy of his airline ticket when he got a Facebook alert on his phone. Please let this be Marilyn, he thought. But no such luck. Jack had many girlfriends throughout high school and college but Marilyn was the one he had grown the closest to. She was the one who had accepted him and his style, surfing in large waves on the California coast even when the lifeguard stands were closed and shuttered, riding his motorcycle at top speed on the tough curves along the Pacific Coast Highway or weaving back and forth between cars on the Harbor Freeway. She could even put up with his stubbornness and his hot headedness. Yet they had grown apart after Jack's military assignment took him to other parts of the country and the world. But that message was just one of his friends posting on his wall, telling him to have a good trip, and to be careful in the Middle East. Another friend thanked him for serving the United States and doing his part to defend the free world.

"I'm not even going into a combat zone," Jack writes back on his phone "but thanks for the support." He goes down the stairs into the opulent living room of the Bauer mansion. It seemed his father Philip had definitely had Jack's life all planned out for him. Philip Bauer was a leading member of Los Angeles society and one of the wealthiest men in California. His company, BXJ Technologies, became a Fortune 500 company less than a week after it became publicly traded on the NASDAQ and stocks had shown considerable growth, especially in light of new military conflicts around the war. Unlike Graem, Jack had always felt out of place in this environment. Something about the lifestyle he had grown up around was empty. He wanted adventure, to see the world beyond beach resorts, first class sections on airplanes, and fancy motorcoaches.

"Jack!" Philip Bauer called out, emerging from the pool deck. "C'mon. We need to have a talk, especially cause I know we won't be speaking much once you're abroad."

Philip had a serious tone in his voice, though not as harsh as he could be. Jack knew his father was disappointed in him, having not already been like Graem and chosen to enter his family's business. Jack walked out through the screen doors and into the crisp, dry, Southern California night. It was quiet except for the chirping of crickets in the bushes scattered throughout the yard and the trickling waterfall that formed the end of the mansion's sparkling outdoor swimming pool, lit up in a bright turquoise color at night.

"Yes, dad?" Jack says simply, stepping out onto the deck overlooking the pool. He knew this was going to be another lecture, another one of those pressure sessions.

"Jack, one of the things your grandfather taught me was that you always plan for the future, as far ahead as you can, because you never know what to expect."

Jack doesn't say anything and lets his father continue. "I know I've been through this before but every time it's more urgent. BXJ Technologies has been in this family for 20 years. It defines who we are. The growth we're seeing is unprecedented. Even I'm amazed by the kinds of DOD contracts I've been able to obtain, but I won't be around forever, and as much as I love your brother, he can't run things on his own."

"Dad," Jack replies, "I promised you I would think about that, and I will." Though in truth his mind had been drifting more and more away from BXJ Technologies.

"You've had a lot of time to think, Jack. I don't' think you recognize how fortunate you are, being born into this family. Many kids out there, like Sam's, can't afford to spend years exploring what they want to do with life. You wanted some adventure, some time to discover yourself, I gave that to you. I paid for most of your tuition at UCLA so you can major in English literature, you wanted to do that online program at Berkeley for your criminology Masters, fine. Wanted some adventure in the Army, you're doing there now. I was hoping all that would finally get all that restlessness out of your system. But it's time to understand your destiny, Jack. You destiny is with this family, with our company. Everything I've built from the ground up, this is my dream, Jack, and it won't be complete without you."

"When I wanted to discover myself, dad," Jack told him, "I couldn't guarantee that the person I found is the one you had in mind. I mean no disrespect to you, Graem, or to this family but I need to go my own way. I need to discover who I really am."

"You spent the last five years discovering it, Jack! You're going have to come into the real world," Philip said, taking a puff on his expensive Cuban cigar. "This assignment in Israel is your last before your discharge from the Army. The real world is knocking and you don't have much time."

Philip started to walk away but then paused. "I'm going to be transparent about something you probably know already. I'm disappointed in you Jack, I really am. I want you to think long and hard about things when you're over there. Don't let me down, son. Don't let our whole family down."

BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

"Wake up, buddy!" the American businessman next to Jack nudges him and Jack jerks awake. The seat belt sign had been turned back on and as he opened the blinds he was greeted by bright sunlight.

The pilot's voice came on the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, we are now on our final approach into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. Local time here is 10 AM, temperature is 83 degrees with scattered clouds. Please make sure your seats are in their full upright position and that your seat belts are securely fastened. On behalf of our entire crew here at Delta, we would like to welcome you to Tel Aviv or to whatever your final destination may be."

Jack could feel the plane's landing gear come out as the jet made a wide turn over the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and Jack saw Tel Aviv's downtown skyscrapers as well as the modern suburbs surrounding the city. There was a lot of history in this region, particularly in Jerusalem and Biblical towns like Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jericho, now under Palestinian Authority control, but Tel Aviv itself was a modern metropolis. Large parts of it looked more like Southern California than the Middle East. Within minutes, the Delta Airlines plane had docked at the jetway of the international arrivals terminal and Jack immediately stood up to stretch his legs, even before the seats in front of him cleared and he made his way into the airport terminal.

Jack saw the long line at customs and the security checks as he got his two large suitcases from the baggage claim. Ben Gurion airport had a notorious reputation for security, and regular travelers to Israel knew to expect at least ten times the amount of scrutiny experienced at American airports, even after the new TSA rules went into effect. However he hoped his American passport and military ID card would help. As he waited he took out his phone and checked his emails. Still nothing from Marilyn, nor any text from his father checking on him and asking about his flight.

"Next, sir," the airport security officer, wearing an Israel Defense Forces uniform. Lost in his thoughts he hadn't even realized that the people in front of him, a group of pastors and deacons from a black church that had been on his plane.

Jack nodded politely and handed the man his passport. The security officer took a look at his picture, taken several years ago and definitely showing a California surfer look and looks at him, then flips over a few pages. He looks at it for a long time, then said something into his radio.

"Please step aside, Mr. Bauer," the man said in a commanding tone of voice. All pretense of politeness was gone. "Wait here."

Two other IDF soldiers, a man and a woman, both no older than Jack, approached him. "Follow us."

Jack was taken into a back room, a barren place that looked like an interrogation area.

"What's going on?" Jack asked innocently. "Can I help you?"

"We need to ask you some more questions," the man said. "Tell me about yourself again."

"My name's Private First Class Jack Bauer, United States Army, it says right there. What more do you need?"

"We know who you are, and we're asking the questions," the female guard said in an abrupt tone of voice. Jack sighed. He had just landed and this was not going well.

"Is this your first trip to Israel? Is this your first passport?" she asked with authority. Jack's frustration began to rise. She was definitely younger than him, maybe not by that much, but she was just a little girl to him. He was tired of putting up with shit all day. Now he was stuck, while his commanding officer, Captain Christopher Henderson, was waiting outside to pick him up. He wasn't about to be talked down to by these two conscripts.

"Yes it is," Jack replied impatiently, "And I don't see the relevance of that question."

"We decide what's a relevant question," she said. "What address are you going to be staying at when you're here?"

"I don't know. I'm with the US Army, people from my base will be picking me up, this is my first time here, am I not convincing enough?" Jack snapped.

"You were flagged for many reasons," the male soldier told him, "It says here that you flew to Riyadh twice in the past year. What kind of business did you have there?"

"I was stationed there at the King Khalid military base. I flew home to visit my family. That should be obvious."

"We'll decide what's obvious," the girl said as they opened up his luggage and went through it carefully. They type his info into a computer. "It also says you attend the University of California – Berkeley even in your service. That campus is notorious for its political activism and its hostility to Israel. Online program, but still. Do you have any alternative reasons for being here in this country?"

"Look this is bullshit," Jack said, "And as a US citizen and active duty military I don't have to put up with this. You're….even with that uniform getting to your head you're just some girl fresh out of high school. In America you wouldn't even be allowed to buy a fucking beer. You remind me of a Chihuahua, like that little Taco Bell dog, trying to act like a doberman."

"You're definitely not helping yourself here," the man told him, "We have the right to refuse your entry to Israel. Or even to place you in detention. Not one, but two flights on Saudi Arabian Airlines to Riyadh, not on US military transports. Was there something you wanted to hide?"

"No!" Jack growled, "We don't get luxuries like that when we get statewide R and R. US carriers stopped flying to Saudi Arabia after the Dhahran barracks bombing. Stop wasting my time. Once I get my superior officer on the phone you will regret this."

"There's no reason for this," their commander said, coming over. "My name is Sergeant Shapiro. In addition to your interesting travel history we found a suspicious device in your luggage." He showed Jack his suitcase. "This flash drive was hidden in the side compartment."

Jack was silenced. He had no idea what it was. Then part of him began to panic. "We will have to analyze this. Put him in holding."

THREE HOURS LATER

"Jack Bauer," Sergeant Shapiro said leading Jack back into the interrogation room. "I was right about you. You wear that uniform, but I don't believe you really stand for it." He took out the flash drive.

He put it in a laptop and turned it around so Jack can see. "This is what our security experts decoded from the flash drive. Can you explain this?"

The screen showed a video of Habib Marwan at a rally where Islamic terrorists are flying their guns into the air and shooting American and Israeli flags. Then Jack was shown the schematics to an apartment building. Jack was silenced, then Shapiro got up and handed Jack a cell phone. "It's your commander." All the IDF personnel left Jack alone in the interrogation room.

AMERICAN FORCES FACILITY, ISRAEL

"Captain Henderson, sir," Jack began respectfully, "There must be some mistake. You know me, I trained with you at Fort Riley. I don't know….."

"Yes, a mistake indeed," Christopher Henderson replied from his office, a utilitarian affair with few decorations except for some flags and insignias for the United States Army and some pictures of US military equipment. "Weren't too careful with your luggage, were you, Private Bauer?" Within the Army, Christopher Henderson had a reputation for being a smartass and having unconventional ideas, especially his mind games. He was loved by few, hated by many, but grudgingly respected by all. With years of combat experience in Vietnam, Panama, and Desert Storm as well as covert operations in Colombia, he was one of the division's most skilled operators.

"So this was just some kind of joke?" Jack asked. He was not only angry, but embarrassed, and couldn't even show his outrage to his superior. "Sir, they made a fool out of me. Humiliated me."

"It's not a joke, it was an official real life training simulation. Our Israeli friends wanted to test their security protocols at the airport. The soldiers on the ground knew nothing about this. It's comforting they're doing their jobs well, it means at 7 PM tomorrow evening, a truck bomb will NOT bring down a 10 story apartment building in Haifa. Our CIA friends stateside wanted to run an operation sneaking materials covertly aboard civilian airliners. They practice at LAX and O'Hare, but these skills can be used in the field in Moscow or Beijing. I'm sure you fell right asleep the moment the airport cab picked you up in Santa Monica. Driver even offered to carry your bags for you. Do you even remember what that driver looked like?"

"I should have been more careful, sir," Jack told him, a sense of embarrassment coming in. "I will perform better, I promise, Captain Henderson. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Oh, I'm not waiting, nobody's waiting. I'm at base HQ at the American compound. I'm sure you'll manage to find your way here. Report to my office immediately upon arrival. Welcome to Israel."

Son of a bitch, Jack cursed to himself.

IBRAHIMI MOSQUE, GAZA STRIP, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet. Allah akbar! Takbir! Allah akbar! Death to the Zionists! Death to all infidels! Glory and victory be to Allah!" Imam Ravid screamed into his bullhorn as the congregation followed, ending the Friday prayers at one of Gaza's largest and most radical mosques. After the prayer service, though three men remained in the mosque, walking into an inner courtyard usually reserved only for the imams and sheikhs and, at certain times, members of the Palestinian leadership. There was much infighting and jostling for power within the various Palestinian factions that ruled the territories, but this mosque was where the leaders of the PLO, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah all came to pray and meet, and discuss the jihad all have sworn against the State of Israel. The three men remaining in the courtyard were Imam Ravid and two of his most devoted followers, Mahmoud Al-Harazi and Nakkash bin Rahal.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, partly renovated and expanded with money from wealthy Persian Gulf oil sheikhs, showed its age, especially the old part of the compound which was built by the Turks when the Ottoman Empire ruled all of Palestine, yet it still seemed to rise like a faded jewel above the dilapidated, crumbling cinder block apartments and bazaars of Gaza City. Imam Ravid was not Palestinian by birth. He was the son of Pakistani migrant workers in Dubai and had joined al-Qaeda several years ago as he discovered his family's faith. After fighting alongside the Dawn Brigade in Chechnya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and ISIS in Iraq, Ravid came to Palestine to join the ultimate jihad to retake the holy land and liberate the Temple Mount in the name of Islam.

Amid the poverty and hopelessness of the Gaza Strip, Ravid found an easy following, especially given that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had already laid a foundation for radicalizing the young men of Gaza, especially of the refugee camps. In the local narrative, the existence of Israel was the reason for their troubles and dejection, and the barrages of rockets and waves of suicide bombers sent across the border on a regular basis was simply the response. It was here that they found Mahmoud and Nakkash. Both grew up on this narrative. Mahmoud and Nakkash had known each other since they were three years old. They grew up together playing soccer and selling candies on the litter-strewn streets of the Jubailya refugee camp and the the cluttered, graffiti-sprayed bazaars of Gaza City. They also experienced tragedy together as one day, as they went about their errands together, an Israeli Tomohawk cruise missile hit a Hamas rocket factory buried a block from their parents homes. Four city blocks were vaporized in seconds as the Hamas arsenal detonated. Nakkash and Mahmoud's parents and siblings were among the 76 people killed.

Instead of blaming Hamas for deliberating placing a weapons cache in a crowded neighborhood, the local propagandists and the liberal international media portrayed it as a wanton attack by the Israeli military. Amid their grief, they found comfort in the mosque and its Islamic madrasa, where Imam Ravid gave them food and shelter and taught them the Koran. Ravid also taught them that their experiences were shared by Muslims throughout the world, and that their enemy was not only Israel, but the entire West, which occupied the holy sands of Arabia on which Mecca and Medina stood. Ravid spoke of his time in Dubai, that prosperous city on the Persian Gulf that had turned its back on Islam and sold its soul to the West. He told them of foreign prostitutes walking the streets of Dubai, of the fancy shopping malls filled with decadent Western products, of large nightclubs where Arab and Muslim women in scantily clad clothing filled their bodies with alcohol as they danced to Western pop music. Islam was under attack on all fronts, and the only way to restore the glory of Allah was through jihad, or holy war. Ravid then preached about the rewards of paradise, the 72 virgins that were promised any man who died fighting against the _kafirs_, or nonbelievers.

"The time has come," Mahmoud Al-Harazi said to the others. "The shipment and men crossed into Israel from Aqaba, Jordan yesterday on a truck with diplomatic plates. They will join the men we already have ready inside Israel."

Nakkash Bin Rahal held his Koran tightly and nodded. This was the moment he had been waiting for. All the training, all the trips to Afghanistan, all the struggles he had faced, pointed to this. "It will take us a few months to get everything in place, make sure the enemy's plans have not changed. But _inshallah_, we shall strike a great blow for Islam. Allah will watch from his throne in paradise and rejoice at what we will accomplish."

"I am proud of you, sons, and I am honored to bless this mission." Ravid said softly then all three men bowed their heads as Imam Ravid chanted a Koranic prayer and asks Allah to bless this operation. "We beseech thee, Allah," Ravid said toward the end, "Grant us victory in your name, the most Merciful and in the name of your prophet Muhammad, peace be unto him. Allah akbar."

"Allah akbar!" the men all repeat.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

Jack was still fuming, though not as badly as he walked out into the parking lot of the airport. At this point the sun was already low in the sky given that it was late October already even though it was still warm. _I need to take it easy_, Jack thought to himself. Being hotheaded like that had often gotten him in trouble before. He was in a foreign country, and he was there as an active duty member of the United States military. He represented not only himself, but his uniform, and the country he served. It was nasty for Captain Henderson to play this on him, he thought for a while, then he forced himself to calm down. It was actually quite a clever operation, Jack had to admit.

He thought back to his training at Fort Riley, Kansas. They would do mock battles, infiltrating terrorist compounds, rescuing hostages, even retaking a hijacked train. But all those were really staged. Here, all three sides had to do their job. IDF's security forces indeed had to screen every arriving passenger at the airport and do luggage checks and interrogations to the best of their ability given that Israel was one of the most targeted countries by international terrorists. Sneaking materials on board a commercial flight is something an intelligence operative might also have to do in certain circumstances and he was sure some trainee in Los Angeles or Chicago was getting a pat on the back. As for him, he wasn't careful enough. Like Henderson said, it wasn't just about you, it's also about your luggage. Hence the reason people who don't "look or act like terrorists" are still subject to random TSA checks at American airports, Jack made a mental note to remind his friends. And of course terrorists liked to use those who would arouse the least suspicion. What better than a US Army soldier?

Jack went to currency exchange and got some Israeli shekels in exchange for his American dollars and got himself a Coke at a vending machine outside an airport terminal then looked for ground transportation. Thankfully the signs were also in English in addition to Hebrew. He checked the timetable and found a bus stop where a city bus would be departing for the district where the American facility was in thirty minutes. He was supposed to be with his unit hours ago. All this was getting to him, his conversation with his father, his detention, the fool that Henderson had made of him. Above all he was angry at himself for falling into one of Henderson's traps.

Jack was walking across a small parking lot, adjusting his sunglasses in the bright Middle Eastern sun when a Ford Focus came to a stop several feet away, pulling to the shoulder on the airport loop. An attractive young woman got out of the car and jogged a few yards over. She was dressed in jeans and an American Eagle t-shirt, and wearing a pair of flip flops, but Jack recognized her as the young soldier in the interrogation room.

"Private Bauer, right?" she asked. It was like she was a totally different person compared to earlier. She had an easygoing smile and a friendly demeanor.

"Yeah," he said in a tired voice. "But Jack would do."

"What are you still doing here? I thought your unit would have sent someone to get you."

"Not Captain Henderson," Jack replied, "I deserved it though. I guess I did make a fool of myself."

"Me too, I guess," she said, "Guess I need to work on making myself more convincingly tough! Gotta give it to you, actually Jack. That Chihuahua thing was actually really hilarious"

"I do owe you an apology, you did a good job back there" Jack told her, slightly embarrassed now. His anger was completely gone now, and for some reason he found his mood lighten up. He had hoped to serve his last tour in Europe or Asia, someplace cooler, but there was something about this girl that started to turn his mood around. For the first time he noticed how attractive she was, with a slim body, her light brown hair tied up on a long ponytail, light green eyes, and some cute freckles on her face.

"No!" she said with a laugh, "I got a kick out of it. Seriously, it really cracked me up. I'll probably never be able to live it down. Taxis are back there, by the way, you're going in the wrong direction."

Jack shook his head. "Don' t have money for a cab, didn't know things were so expensive here. Finally went through the currency exchange and managed to interpret the timetable for the buses. Route 24, leaves in half an hour."

"Make that an hour, It's always late, though it might be on time by American standards," she quipped. She paused for a few seconds. "If you're going to the US military facility in Givatayim, I can give you a ride. I live in downtown Tel Aviv, so it's on the way for me, less than a mile off the freeway."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. He looked at all his luggage and thought was waiting another hour for the bus then chugging it all with him, then walking to the American military facility once he got to his final stop.

The girl popped open the trunk of the Ford Focus. "Just get your stuff in the back and hop in, it's no big deal, seriously."

A local radio station was playing "Easy" by Rascal Flatts and Natasha Beddingfield. She turned down the radio and rolled up her windows and letting the AC cool the air inside her car.

"Thanks again, Private….." Jack looked at her uniform in the back then remembered there was no English on it.

"Private Friedman, when I have that on," she told him, "And Rachel when I don't. Nice to formally meet you, Jack."

She offered her hand and Jack shook it, relaxing into the seat. "Likewise."

Rachel pulled into the afternoon traffic leaving Ben Gurion airport, picking up speed as the departures area and the parking garages sped past them as they approached the on-ramp for Israel Highway One. The whole matter with his father and BXJ Technologies was pushed to the back of his mind. Part of him knew he wasn't strong enough to stand up to Philip Bauer and the destiny that had been planned for him. If that was the case, this was his last few months to live free, and he should make it count while it lasted. Little did Jack Bauer know the real destiny that fate had planned for him.

_I know there is some confusion about Margot's husband's name, but he was referred to as Muhammad once and Mahmoud twice so I'm going with Mahmoud. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note – Y'all will get the subtle reference to my story Season 10: God's Country (highly anachronistic even within my timeline but whatever lol). This does take place in the same universe as that one. In fact it doesn't matter which timelines you follow cause this story IS where it all began. Jack's spiritual issues is something that's also touched upon in Season 7 and will be mentioned again in God's Country. Now again there is not enough Tom Clancy to be a true crossover, BUT assume that at least some of the events of the Jack Ryan novels occurred though most of them will not be mentioned in detail. Within the Tom Clancy universe this takes place after his final book "Command Authority" during Jack Ryan's second term in office. Again this story is more of a narrative and not 100% action but I hope y'all enjoy the prose. Jack's educational background came from 24 wikia which was based on the actual character files the official website provided during the earlier seasons. _

_I have decided to dedicate this fanfic in the memory of my two favorite professional authors, Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn who both passed away in recent years. Years before 9-11, Clancy's book Debt of Honor featured a suicide pilot crashing a plane into the US Capitol. Flynn served as an advisor in 24 Season 5 and his book "Transfer of Power" was probably the first fictional depiction of the White House held hostage, before Season 7, Olympus Has Fallen, or White House Down._

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, 45 DAYS BEFORE DAY ZERO

"So you're from Tel Aviv your entire life?," Jack asked Rachel as she steered the car out of the the grounds of Ben Gurion airport.

"General area," she replied. "Grew up in Rehovot, that's just south of here, then moved to the city after high school when I started my army service. Lived in the barracks for a year and a half but then me and two of my girlfriends got an apartment downtown. "

Jack was definitely beginning to feel awkward. Here he was on the other side of the world, riding in the car of a young woman he had just met in an airport interrogation room no less. He didn't want that awkward silence for the next 15 minutes or however long it took to get to his base depending on the traffic, which was certainly increasing. At the same time, he was a little mesmerized by Rachel as she tapped her steering wheel to the Hebrew music coming from the radio now.

"Your English is really good," Jack told her, trying to strike up more conversation, "Maybe that's why they assigned you to the airport."

"Thanks! I have American relatives. and spent a summer working with my cousin at a state park in Maryland," she told him. "Definitely was a great opportunity to practice. So yup, I get to be at the airport! Pretty sweet gig to be honest. A lot of my high school friends are out doing checkpoint duty in the West Bank or East Jerusalem. A lot of girls also get stuck doing that secretary stuff at staff HQ. I would be bored out of my mind, drive me crazy. Here I get to talk to people all day, plus I know most of the guys in the food court and the duty free shops. They always hook me up with good deals."

"Certainly gets exciting when suspected terrorists like me show up," Jack said slyly.

"You were something else, ya know that? It was that Saudi Arabia thing that flagged you, then the X-ray machine showed a flash drive model that's mostly sold in Pakistan, and to top it off, you had to get smart with me," she remarked with a quick wink in his direction. "Usually, it' s just a quick chat, a luggage search and you're on your way. It's interesting meeting folks from all over, sometimes I have to explain the process to them. I know how we do things is a lot more thorough than other places, but we are inIsrael after all. I'm glad most travelers are very understanding."

Jack stared ahead at the freeway, the high-rise downtown of the city coming into view in the afternoon haze beyond the large blue highway signs written in both Hebrew and English. Here they also used kilometers, just like almost every foreign country. So he had no idea how much longer they had. The freeway was well-maintained, certainly better than the 405 or the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. Desert palm trees lined the median. So far, Jack's first impression of Tel Aviv was that it was a cleaner, more exotic version of California, but looking to his right at the neighborhoods below the highway viaduct, he couldn't help the heavy military presence on the streets. Humvees were parked at several street corners and Israeli soldiers carrying machine guns conducted intermittent patrols. Some of the buildings also had a drab Middle Eastern look, in contrast to the newer part of the city. He was a bit disconcerted to see an Iron Dome missile interceptor not far off the highway.

"Lots of Americans visit Israel?" Jack inquired curiously. "A lot with the base?"

"No it's a very small American contingent," Rachel told him. "It's on the IDF's Givatayim base. I'm there sometimes for events and to use the pool. It's a joint forces agreement where we have some American military stationed here, and we do a lot of joint exercises. The US Army has its own section of the base though. As for American tourists, we mostly get two kinds. First is the church groups. I can't even count how many church tracts and Bible verses I've gotten. I'm the first person they meet in Israel and they're already trying to evangelize, can you believe that?" Rachel tried to act out an encounter. "So here I am, going through the suitcase, making sure nothing illegal's there, and some preacher from Louisiana would be like oh yeah here's a tract with some Bible verses, feel free to keep it for yourself! Are you saved?"

Jack couldn't help but burst out laughing with her. The laughter really was like a catharsis for him after the difficult few days back home in California and his most likely future with BXJ Technologies lurking on the horizon. Rachel took the exit to the Givatayim district of the city, entering a wide avenue lined mostly with shops and apartment buildings.

"Oh the other hand, the other Americans we get are those Jewish kids on those Birthright trips."

"Never heard of that."

"Free trips to Israel for Jewish college students from the US. I actually get assigned to do some of the tours and stuff. Show them around, help them get in touch with their heritage, and the ultimate goal, convince them to make _aliyah._ To actually move to Israel. Which is weird for me cause I'm thinking about the opposite. My time in the army is up in less than a year. I've been applying for colleges in America. I really want to move there, be a teacher maybe."

"You could have gone straight out of high school, or left the military early and just went," Jack pointed out as they entered the grounds of the military base. Rachel flashed her Israeli military ID card to the guard at the front gate and they were waived through with no hassle.

"It was too late," she said then became more serious. "Plus, I was raised here my whole life. I feel l owe it to Israel to serve, even if I end up leaving."

"At least you know what you want with your life. I wish I was so sure," Jack told her honestly, "You're not young, I'm getting old."

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out, Jack," Rachel told him, "Anyway, here you are."

They drove across a wide airfield into a separate section of the base where Jack could see the Stars and Stripes rising up into the desert sky. There was a mess hall, barracks housing for the US Army detachment, and officer's quarters. The rest of the facility was integrated.

Jack got his stuff out of her trunk and he went back and thanked her through the window. He didn't want to push the luck, but what the hell, he decided. The worst that could happen was she would say no. Nothing to lose, why not go for it? But he wanted to take it easy and not straight out ask her out on a date right on the spot.

"You mentioned you come here for events and use the fitness center for free. Maybe I'll see you around," Jack said. "We should stay in touch."

"Sure." Rachel took out her Sprint smartphone and pushed the button for the Facebook app then typed something in, pulling up his profile. "You're the only Jack Bauer on all of Facebook! There are at least fifty other people with my name."

Jack looked at his funny picture, taken by one of his friends at an LA Lakers game. He was glad he had changed the one with Marilyn. "That's me. The one and only."

She made sure Jack saw her send the friend request. "Yeah, let me know what's going on! Hit me up, especially if you're ever downtown. My friends and I have a couple favorite spots, we can met up if y'all are in the area. I'm always down for a good time."

HAMAS POLITICAL HEADQUARTERS, GAZA CITY

Due to the lack of air conditioning in much of the Gaza City, the windows of the Hamas organization's main political office were always left open and one often had to speak up to be heard over the haggling of the carpet vendors, camel jockeys, and food hawkers in the traditional Arab marketplace next door. Yet Hamas spiritual leader Muhammad Ajaz was even louder than usual as he strutted passionately around his spacious but Spartan office. There were a half dozen militants gathered around, all carrying AK-47s and other Russian made weaponry.

"This is madness! Where in the name of Allah did you people get this idea? You are both out of your minds! You do not begin carrying out an operation without my consent! It was Imam Ravid who came up with this, was it not? Tell me!" Ajaz screamed. Nakkash Bin Rahal, Hamas's military commander, and his top operative Mahmoud Al-Harazi remained silent. Both knew that when Ajaz was like this, the rants that followed was part of the question. Sometimes his questions were simply part of his rants. However, something was different this time. Nakkash had his cell phone on record, and the conversation was being broadcasted out into the streets below.

"Who on Earth does Ravid think he is?" Ajaz raged, "Ravid thinks getting money from the Saudis and renovating that mosque makes him above me? We have worked with him, but I am the spiritual leader of Hamas! Imam Ravid is nothing! And you, Mahmoud and Nakkash, are both nothing if you stand with him. I can have you both killed for this affront and dishonor toward me! I have been Allah's loyal servant for twenty years!"

"And how exactly have you served Allah?" Nakkash spoke back softly but with a disrespectful, sarcastic tone he never dared to use before, despite his long-time disagreement and falling out with Muhammad Ajaz. "What have you done for Palestine in all your illustrious years of service?"

Ajaz was about to lose his mind as he spat out his words in a furious rage. "We built up Hamas! We waged war against the Zionist enemy. Our rockets and martyrs now spread fear across all of Israel. Because of me, the PLO is collapsing and Hamas is in control of Gaza. Because of me!"

"In other words, all you have done is elevate yourself above our other Palestinian brothers," Mahmoud responded coldly.

Nakkash spoke up again, his voice rising as the people in the streets outside began cheering him. "You are making the same promises you did twenty years ago, and what is happening?" he demanded rhetorically. "We are no closer to liberating Jerusalem! Our proud people languish in these refugee camps as one new Israeli settlement after another is constructed on our land. Our Muslim brothers worldwide are all under attack! The Americans and British occupy the holy sands of Arabia, their jets fly miles from the pilgrimage mosques! Their puppet regimes plunder the wealth of the Muslim world to satisfy the West's greed for oil!"

"We are Allah's true warriors!" Mahmoud shouted.

"That is enough!" one of Ajaz's guards yelled and the armed men looked especially alert.

"Down with Ajaz! Allah akbar!" an angry Palestinian man screams from the middle of the mob outside and was joined by a chorus of similar chants. The mob started throwing stones and anything else they could at the building. "Down with Ajaz! Allah be praised!"

"We gave you a chance to accept change," Mahmoud said as the mob stormed the first floor of the Hamas political building. Hamas gunmen loyal to Ajaz opened fire on the crowd. Several waves of attackers fell dead but the crowd kept coming. Many of Ajaz's gunmen were now defecting or fleeing. Mahmoud and Nakkash grabbed Ajaz and dragged him out into the balcony overlooking the market square where the mob had gathered. As Mahmoud held Ajaz in front of the crowd, Nakkash approached with a traditional Arabic curved knife, a scimitar.

"What you are planning will doom our people," Ajaz begs. "If you succeed with this madness, the Americans will destroy us."

"Shut up, you cowardly old fool," Nakkash snarled.

With one swing of the blade, Nakkash separated Muhammad Ajaz's head from the rest of his body then hurled both into the crowd below, the demonstrators cheering and stomping on both parts of his body.

AMERICAN MILITARY FACILITY

Upon entering the command building, Jack was immediately greeted by Private Lance Sizemore, one of his buddies whom he had met on his last deployment. Jack told Lance what Henderson had done and his old friend laughed about it for a while. Unlike Jack, this was only Lance Sizemore's second deployment, and his first time outside the United States except for a Caribbean cruise. Lance was in the same boat Jack was except it was more normal for him, given he was only 19 years old. He graduated high school in St. George, Utah, not knowing what he wanted to do with his life and joined after speaking with a military recruiter at a county fair.

"Something like this happen to anyone else?" Jack asked.

"Not that I know of," Lance replied, "I mean, if it's a common trick then the locals would be onto it and it would ruin the practice for them. He's like a fox, man. Honestly, thank God Henderson's on our side and not the other." Jack certainly agreed with that sentiment.

Captain Christopher Henderson looked at the clock on his wall, then glanced out at the window, surprised to see Jack Bauer coming through the gates of the compound. A few minutes later, Jack appeared outside Henderson's office in his dress uniform. Have to be impressed how quickly he managed to change, Henderson thought. To be honest, Henderson felt that Private Jack Bauer showed a lot of promise. He was a natural leader during basic training at Fort Riley and his stamina and instinct surpassed most of the other recruits. A part of him was proud that he had bested Jack though. Of course Jack had never saw that trick coming.

Henderson, however knew that one could never be too careful. Yes, America was still safe, but it was an island of peace and prosperity in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. From the terrorist training camps of the Middle East, the cocoa fields of South America, the bullet ridden streets of Mexico's border towns, the chaotic ethnic battlefields of the former East Bloc, and the hostile communist regimes of China and North Korea, possible threats to the United States were emerging everywhere. Even as he expected complete obedience from the subordinates under his command, Henderson himself never hesitated to bend the rules or go into the grey area when he felt justified. He was the highest ranking US officer on this base. His superiors operated out of Camp Patriot in Kuwait. The main purpose of this task force was to provide training to local military as well as serve as an emergency response team in case fighting broke out in the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Egypt, or Syria and American citizens had to be evacuated at a moment's notice.

Jack did his best to act confident as he walked to the door and another soldier motioned him in. He immediately saluted Henderson, who returned his salute.

"At ease, private," Henderson said. "Have a seat."

Jack did as he was told as Henderson paced around the room. The embarrassment was coming back to him. Another part of his mind made him resent his superior officer's tactics and paranoia about the world. This was technically the second time Jack was under Henderson's command. First there was the grueling training at Fort Riley, but Jack had been transferred to a different division during his deployment to Saudi Arabia. Over there, Jack's unit was responsible for security and operations at King Khalid Military City, a major allied facility northeast of Riyadh that was an important staging area for American soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Sunni insurgency. Jack was young and restless and wanted to be deployed to Iraq where most of the action was, but no such luck. His last tour was spent patrolling the perimeter in the 120 degree heat, looking out at the barren, empty, lifeless expanse of the Arabian desert After his new unit was pulled out of Saudi Arabia, Henderson became his commander again.

"Glad you were able to find your way here, as resourceful as you are."

"I apologize once again for my lack of caution," Jack offered respectfully, "I realize what a grave mistake it could have been."

"Things happen, Jack," Henderson said, still packing the room and taking a look out the window at the airfield and barracks. "I trust such mistakes won't be repeated."

"No, sir, I promise it will never happen again."

"On the other hand, Private Bauer, you were quite adept at finding yourself back here so quickly, navigating through the local public transportation system. Bus actually came on time?"

Jack avoided this trap, just in case Henderson had seen him get out of Rachel's car from his window. "To be honest, I got lucky. Someone was nice enough to give me a ride." He quickly added, "She's local military, has security clearance to this base."

Henderson didn't comment but Jack saw him suppress a smile. "You've been in-country for what, less than ten hours and you're already meeting the ladies. Anyway, this is not Saudi Arabia and you are free to do what you like off base, as long as you stay focused on our job here. That must always come first and must never be compromised. Do I make myself clear, Private Bauer?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, I will see you and the rest of your squad at 0650 tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."

35 DAYS BEFORE DAY ZERO. ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER

The long, snaking tunnel deep beneath the fortified Israel-Gaza border was too narrow for most smuggling operations, but that didn't matter to Mahmoud and Nakkash. The weapons they were planning to use for their attack were already in the country. Their sympathizers in the Jordanian government had arranged for that diplomatic shipment, ostensibly two truckloads of food aid desperately needed in Sangala, where a major famine was occurring. It was much faster to sail there from Ashdod than from any Jordanian port, the driver had explained. The trucks indeed contained plenty of grain and wheat destined for West Africa, but they also contained more than fifty Hamas's most elite fighters. Most of them had crossed from Gaza into Egypt, taken a Red Sea ferry to Jordan and rendezvoused in Amman. In addition, there was an entire arsenal of Russian-made weapons purchased on the black market that thrived along Jordan's borders with Iraq and Syria.

The tunnel was dank and several parts looked like it might collapse at any time. So both men felt a great relief as the tunnel began to rise and then ended at a metal grate. Several Arab men quickly opened the grate and they found themselves in a basement storeroom.

"_Salaam aleikum_, Ali," Mahmoud greeted the leader of the men in Arabic.

"_Aleikum salaam, mujahid_," replied Ali, an Israeli Arab store owner and longtime Hamas contact. "I hope it was not too difficult. We have not used this tunnel in years."

"All the better," Nakkash replied, "Then the Zionist infidels are not alert to its existence."

"They suspect nothing," Ali replied confidently as he led the two Hamas terrorists up a staircase into a corridor. Ali provided them with some brand new Western clothing to help them blend in.

"Have you been contacted by our people yet?" Nakkash asked.

"Yes," Ali said, "Malik's teams are in place at our safe house in Tel Aviv. Bilal has been observing their target for the past month. Nothing has changed. We know all of their security protocols. We even know when the Americans will be there."

Minutes later, Nakkash and Mahmoud made their way into the Islamic _halal _supermarket that Ali owned. Nobody gave them a single look in the crowded, bustling establishment.

"Then I will make the finishing touches on my end of the operation. I am counting on you, Mahmoud," Nakkash said to his closest friend, "All of Islam is counting on you."

"I will see you again, in this life or the next," Mahmoud replied as they embrace. Then the two most dangerous men in all of Hamas walked out of the supermarket into the crowded Arab bazaar, going in opposite directions.

30 DAYS BEFORE DAY ZERO

Jack couldn't get Rachel out of his mind, but the first week or so he never got a break. Captain Henderson's training regimen was even more grueling than what the average serviceman in the US Army experienced but Jack told himself it was for the better. It seemed his platoon was on the obstacle course and shooting range even more than the local Israel Defense Forces personnel was.

"We're not even on combat footing right now, this is bullshit," his shooting partner, Sergeant Darius Greene complained as they both squeezed off more rounds with their M4 Carbines at the shooting range. Jack's aim was perfect, all of the bullets hitting the head or heart of the target. As for Darius, despite, or maybe because of his ghetto childhood in Philadelphia, still needed more practice. Darius was proud to have _not _touched a gun before he joined the military. Darius was one of the few young men in his neighborhood who graduated high school. Most of his peers from the drug-infested streets of Philly were dead, in prison, or on their way to prison. While Jack joined the Army for adventure, for Darius it was an escape route, a ticket to college and eventually a life in the suburbs.

"I think our Captain's of the opinion that war is always imminent," Jack pointed out, pulling a full magazine into his weapon. "I can't disagree with his assessment. You don't always see things coming. Let's not forget how Jack Ryan became President, half the government wiped out in that attack."

Darius nodded. "Yeah, you do got a point there, homie. You know, though, you always seem pissed off about something. You alright, dawg?"

Jack squeezed off more rounds and reloaded. "No, just frustrated. Personal stuff, you know. My dad's pushing me to join his company back in L.A. I'm not sure that's really for me. I feel trapped, like I'm not in control of my own life."

"You serious, man?" Darius exclaimed. "I wish I had a rich daddy like you, nice comfy job. I'd kill someone to trade places with you. You got it made, man."

"You don't understand," Jack told him.

"Damn straight I don't. I really don't get you sometimes."

BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TEL AVIV

Rachel Friedman sat down with her laptop at the food court inside Ben Gurion airport's arrivals hall. It was 11 PM and most of the food court was empty despite the airport being open 24 hours. Her shift had just ended, but she decided to redeem one of the coupons for a snack. Besides, funny enough, she liked the quiet terminal at night, where she could use the free Wi-Fi and work on her online college applications. Despite the intermittent announcements, the terminal right now was much quieter than her apartment, where she no doubt would be distracted by her roommates. She decided to spend some more time working on her college essay. She was naturally a night person and her brain worked much better now than at 10 AM. She much preferred her late shifts over her 7 AM ones.

As she squeezed the vinaigrette dressing on her light Israeli salad, Rachel was distracted by Facebook and saw that Jack Bauer had once again checked in at the Givitayim military base, and posted some pictures of him in the bunks along with some other soldiers from his unit. Rachel hadn't talked to Jack since that day but she did comment on or "like" some of his Facebook statuses. Rachel knew he was probably even busier than she was. There was someone about that American that left an impression on her. She wasn't sure if she liked him in that way though she was at least open to being friends. In any case, Rachel wasn't particularly on the prowl for a relationship at this point. She was still young, just wanted to enjoy life as much as serving in the IDF allowed her to and plan for her future. If something came along great, if not, whatever. It was still nice having a Facebook friend from the US, though, being able to look through Jack's pictures of his previous life in California, though she was shocked there were so few with his father or brother.

Yes, why would someone from a background like Jack's join the military in the US? In Israel, military service was mandatory for all citizens, men and women. But Jack didn't fit the profile of most recruits. He wasn't openly super patriotic, like the folks she met that summer in Baltimore's mostly white blue collar eastern suburbs. He obviously also wasn't banking on the Army as a ticket out of an economically depressed small town or ghetto, nor one of those Mexican immigrants doing it to get citizenship. Jack was a rebel at heart, she figured, and despite Jack's comment about her not old enough to buy a beer in America, in some ways he was still younger at heart than his actual age.

She wondered about her counterparts in the United States who were also applying for college. Most would be in their senior year of high school, playing sports, maybe working just part time like her cousin still did at the state park. _Tell me about yourself. What makes you special and unique?_ The most generic question ever, every admission officer's apparent favorite. Then a thought entered her head as Facebook send her another alert, this time Messenger on her phone. Jack Bauer left another status about being at the shooting range.

Jack Bauer had been through all this before he got into UCLA, one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and again with Berkeley. Plus despite the compliments Jack gave her, she was still uneasy with her written English. She wanted to ask her cousin but realized it was still in the middle of the day on the East Coast and she was most likely in class. She looked at her Facebook chat section on her screen. Jack Bauer was still online and active, probably trying to relax after another long day doing live fire exercises. Jack it is, then. Plus, she really had been wondering what he was up to.

_Note - There really is no actual person named Jack Bauer on facebook. This was pointed out on the LAD discussion board and I checked for myself. :) _


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note – This will be the last chapter before Day Zero starts. Probably the longest chapter of the story. About the references to the Tom Clancy universe, he did predict a modern Russia-Ukraine crisis. That was in his final book "Command Authority". _

_If y'all are not familiar with the songs featured here it would be helpful to look them up, particularly the new hit song "Roller Coaster" by Luke Bryan. _

AMERICAN BARRACKS / BEN GURION AIRPORT, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

Jack was just in a lounge on his base checking e-mails and Facebook messages from friends in California when he got the message alert from Rachel. For days Jack had also been checking up on her profile and updates (thank God for the built-in Google translator) and thinking of how to start talking to her, what he would say and now here she was, contacting him first. All the sleepiness immediately left him as he read her message even though he wasn't getting his hopes up. Her messaging style was to be expected for a bubbly 20 year old female including "heyyyyy" with a smiley face. After some pleasantries she got to the point and asked him for some advice on her college essay.

This exchange wasn't what he had expected, but at least he was communicating with her. He saw Rachel's small photo in the Facebook message and pictured her sitting by the food court fountain typing into her laptop while enjoying her salad. Before long, almost an hour had passed as they got distracted by side conversations. After all, the essay was about describing herself, her outlook on life and all that good stuff so he was definitely happy to oblige. Behind her uniform, Rachel was just a young, witty, fun loving girl with an independent spirit. Very different than Marilyn, who loved Jack for his wild side but was overly quiet for Jack and super moody at times. She was a little exotic in that foreign kind of way but comfortingly familiar at the same time and her background was not completely alien like the Orthodox Jews he saw on the streets here sometimes, not to mention the veiled and headscarved locals in Saudi Arabia.

"Okay…..how does this sound?" Rachel asked him, reading her words aloud as she typed. The elderly café owner grinned at her as if saying _these young people and their technology_. "Because of my country's history, from the Holocaust thru all the regional wars, many Israelis have developed a very narrow comfort zone. However, working at Ben Gurion Airport and my recent summer in America have allowed me to see the world out there with curiosity and hope. Once of my most striking experiences in Edgemere, Maryland was meeting the local pharmacist, Mr. Siddiq, who was born in Iran. One day he asked me where my accent was from and probably noticed my nervousness when I said I was Israeli. Mr. Siddiq told me he was an American now and there was no need to bring the past here. America was about starting over and finding your own way". She paused. "Is that too sappy, Jack?"

"Hell no that's great. That's exactly the kind of shit the college professors and admissions people love." Jack truly was impressed by her writing and that window into her life. "Trust me," Jack typed into the message, "You really come across as a complex person in your essay. That really is much deeper than your typical American applicant by far. Nobody can actually fault you, not even those misguided academics on the left who naturally support the other side. You're a genius."

"Well I think I got enough done tonight," Rachel typed, "Thanks again for your help Jack." Smiley face.

Jack didn't stop himself this time. "How about we grab a drink, and just hang out a little, unwind. Had a long day myself, crazy training regimen."

There was long pause where Jack's Facebook showed Rachel was typing and hesitating, then typing again. Finally she replied, "How about that new bar right by the base? I'll swing by on my way home."

NEXT TWO WEEKS

Rachel picked Jack up from the base and they had gone to a local bar frequented by the American and local soldiers stationed there along with some of Jack's squad including Lance Sizemore and Darius Greene. He knew this wasn't a date and didn't mind having some friends around, if only to make himself seem cooler. Plus it increased his confidence. He didn't want to rush into things.

Somewhere as the night went on, he decided that they really were considered friends by now and that at the very least it was safe to assume they would be constantly in touch as long as he was in Israel. Neither of them got shit faced, just a little buzz going, but soon they were on the dance floor moving along quickly to the mix of American, European, and Israeli rock and hip hop music. Being American, Jack didn't recognize most of the music they played but just danced along to the beat. He noticed that Rachel could definitely let loose. Finally the DJ played another familiar American dance hit, "I Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith. To his own surprise, he was able to convince her to whip it back and forth. If only their commanders could see them like this, Jack thought.

Their first date wasn't particularly planned either. Rachel had planned on seeing the _Mockingjay _movie with her best friend but they had to cancel at the last minute and she was acting disappointed on Facebook. She didn't know when she would have another chance to go so Jack offered to take her. Jack was glad it wasn't some chick flick based on a Nicholas Sparks movie. Of course she liked those too but at least for a first date they saw a movie that didn't put him to sleep. Since it was the most action packed of the trilogy, Jack felt the last installment was better than _Hunger Games _or _Catching Fire_. After the movie, Jack took Rachel to an upscale seafood restaurant close to the movie theater at the Dizengoff Center, one of Tel Aviv's large Western-style shopping malls. Jack's finances were kind of tight given his father's hesitance to support him anymore and the fact that the Army wouldn't pay him for another y couple days but he needed to splurge once in a while. He also felt bad depending on Rachel for a ride again given her insistence that he not take the public bus due to the ever present risk of suicide bombings. Above all, of course, he wanted to impress her.

On her part, Rachel felt unexpectedly attracted to this brash young American soldier as they feasted on the fresh succulent Mediterranean seafood. She had given him that ride from the airport just to be nice and felt he was a fun friend, but maybe there was something more. She hoped he didn't get the wrong impression of her from his interrogation session. Rachel had been as surprised as Jack was when it was revealed to have been a test run for her team at the airport. She truly thought Jack was suspicious and uncooperative and that it was one of those times where she had to be firm. Just like there are times when a teacher needed to lay down the law, she thought to herself.

Rachel was genuinely surprised as Jack told her about his wealthy, privileged upbringing in Southern California and the expectations Philip Bauer had of his son becoming a leader at BXJ Technologies. She knew about BXJ Technologies since they also had a presence in Israel, the company's logo prominently displayed at the entrance to an office park near her parents' house. It was her understanding BXJ Technologies was a high-tech supplier to both the IDF and the private sector here. Unlike Lance Sizemore or Darius Greene, Rachel showed empathy with Jack over his predicament with his father. Jack was beginning to realize that while she was not as wild as he was, she was at least free spirited enough to understand him, unlike most of his peers who were either resented or envied the wealth and power he had been born into.

"You know I'm not all about getting super rich. If I was I wouldn't be interested in teaching elementary school," she said, "But is working for BXJ really that bad, or is it that rebelliousness in you? What _do _you see in the future?"

Jack admitted to himself she had a point there. Here he was, further into his last tour of duty and no closer to figuring things out. He wasn't sure he wanted to stay in the military long term. He had explored so many things in college, majoring in English literature which many derisively referred to as a "useless major" and taking online classes with UC Berkeley to get his master's in criminology. But he didn't think he wanted to be a cop either. "To be honest I really don't know. It must be really amazing for you, having everything planned out by yourself and a family that supports you. And you're right, sometimes I don't know why I'm so against working for my father. I….I've just always rejected it. Like being a rebel just because I can."

"Why not just give it a try?" Rachel asked him. Jack took a sip of his tropical drink and looked at her. "You're always going to be your own person, and since your time in the army's also up soon and you're not extending your enlistment, you could just give it a shot. If it doesn't turn out well, you can always leave. At least your dad will know that you considered what he wanted for you, but that it's still your own choice in the end."

A month ago Jack probably would have just let that kind of talk go in through one ear and come out the other. But Rachel was right. Jack really didn't know why he didn't want to join BXJ. He really, honestly didn't have a good answer for that. It really was just that resentment of the time his father put into the company vs with the family, and the entire upper class scene that he felt so stifling. But a job was a job, right? He could still be himself. He could still do things differently than his father. Maybe one day, he would get Philip Bauer to respect him.

He nodded. "I really never thought of it that way. You know, maybe I just wanted to do something meaningful with my life."

Rachel thought for a little bit. Jack obviously grew up in one of those families where life and work really meshed together. She _was _glad that he rejected that part but there's got to be an in-between. Maybe all his life Jack really never had anyone put things in perspective for him. "My American uncle works in the tin mill at Sparrows Point Steel outside Baltimore," she told him. "Nothing glamorous but he puts in his 40 hours and that plus my aunt working part time for Baltimore County was enough to support their family. Just spending time with my aunt and cousins and volunteering with community events is what makes him happy. My dad's plumbing business is doing pretty good but it's not what defines him. You just enjoy life, raise a good family, try to help those around you, that's meaningful enough. If you know exactly what you want to do that's great, but otherwise, a job's a job it's not your life."

All in all he had a great time with her and they already set up their next date. She was actually the one who told him they should definitely do it again. Jack wanted to kiss Rachel and hold her close as he looked into her deep green eyes, but he didn't want to rush into it. Something about this was different. For the first time in his life, a girl had actually made Jack Bauer consider settling down and he didn't want to ruin it by pushing too hard too early.

COMMAND OFFICE, GIVITAYIM MILITARY BASE

"What's the threat assessment and the readiness of your forces?" General Justin Long inquired from the videoconference from Camp Patriot in Kuwait.

"The local authorities still have the terrorism threat level at Orange," Christopher Henderson replied. "Last terrorist attack in this country was a month ago, a suicide bombing at a marketplace in West Jerusalem. Nine civilians were also killed and dozens wounded in a rocket attack on an Israeli settlement outside Jericho in the West Bank last week. I do recommend renewing the travel warning for American citizens visiting Israel and in particular the Jerusalem area. There's been multiple attempts to breach the West Bank barrier and it's likely American citizens, including Christian tour groups, may be targeted by Muslim terrorists."

"Your recommendation is noted, please continue. What's the status on Gaza?"

"I'm extremely troubled by the recent developments there, especially the coup within Hamas. The Hamas spiritual leader Muhammad Ajaz was deposed and publicly beheaded by his second-in-command, a fanatical zealot named Nakkash Bin Rahal. Our sources in the Gaza Strip report that Bin Rahal hasn't been seen or heard from for more than a week which is unusual. We believe he may be preparing an attack."

"From hiding?" General Long asked.

"Yes, based on previous experiences, he is most likely in a secret location because he's expecting Israel to retaliate with airstrikes and attempted assassinations in the wake of whatever he has planned. Which means whatever Bin Rahal is planning it's going to be something big. I've already advised our Israeli friends to boost security at the checkpoints and to have extra surveillance in Jerusalem at the holy sites. The Defense Minister is pushing for a complete closure of the West Bank border but the leftist members of the Israeli government are against that."

"And you believe Nakkash Bin Rahal is uniquely dangerous. C'mon, we all know Ajaz wasn't exactly known for his pacifism or religious tolerance."

"As radical as Ajaz was, he was a local Palestinian militant focused on fighting Israel. Our intel suggests Nakkash Bin Rahal has been influenced ideologically and financially by Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi sheikhs. We believe he may have traveled to Pakistan for additional guerilla training. In addition one of his known associates is Imam Daroon Ravid, a Pakistani al-Qaeda terrorist who set up shop in Gaza City and opened a mosque there."

"If the wider global jihadi movement is taking root in Gaza this indeed is dangerous. I'll definitely pass all of this on to the Pentagon," General Long promised.

"Sir, any updates from Washington about the new anti-terrorist outfit? We both know President Ryan can't rely on the Campus anymore, that outfit with his son in it. His son was nearly exposed and killed in Ukraine by the Russians."

"We're still working on that. Trust me, President Ryan fully understands the terror threat to the American homeland but the Democrats are threatening a filibuster, demanding that the money would be better suited providing in-state tuition for illegals and expanding Medicaid and Section 8 housing."

During President Jack Ryan's first term, the US had begun participating in a multinational anti-terrorist task force called Rainbow, based at Hereford RAF base in England but that proved to not be enough as one terrorist crisis after another struck the nation and the world. During Ryan's second term, he supported a covert, privately funded special ops team called the Campus, of which his own son, Jack Ryan Jr. was a member. However this group was nearly exposed by China and had suffered heavy losses in other operations, including the recent covert NATO intervention during the Russian incursion into eastern Ukraine. President Ryan had recommended the formation of a new counterterrorist agency that would operate domestically on U.S. soil, kind of like a domestic CIA mixed with the high-tech capabilities of the NSA along with special ops teams.

All that had been bogged down in committee in Congress with heavy opposition from liberals and Democrats. This new outfit would be Henderson's ticket out of the army into a promising civilian career stateside. He had already been vetted by his superiors to lead this agency once it was formed and he went with the current sacrifices, one tour after another far from home. Believe it or not, Israel was his best post so far aside from a brief stint in Kansas. His deployments with rapid response teams had taken him to the most godforsaken corners of the globe, places like Bolivia, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan. Hopefully, President Ryan and the Republicans would finally get the ball rolling in Washington so he can get what he had been promised.

MEDITERRANEAN BEACH, SOUTH OF TEL AVIV – FIVE DAYS BEFORE DAY ZERO

Rachel stopped the car a few hundred feet from a cliff overlooking the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea. They were in a secluded residential area south of Tel Aviv, away from downtown's beachfront hotels. As they walked walk the sandy path to the top of the cliff, Rachel told Jack this was one of her favorite spots in the area, and that she would sometimes come here by herself to get some sun and some quiet time when she didn't go on duty until the afternoon. Traffic was light on the coastal road, and the loudest sounds were the seagulls and the ocean breeze blowing in from the sea. Jack was flattered to hear that even many of her friends from the IDF and high school haven't come here with her and took it as a good sign. While she could party it up like a normal 20 year old girl, there was also a quiet side to her. He also discovered she liked relaxing evenings watching a movie or chatting with friends online. Some balance wasn't bad, and Jack hated to admit that even though Rachel was two years younger, she was smart and much more settled down than she was.

The early January day was too chilly for Jack to show off his surfing skills but he promised he would do that once it warmed up. For their picnic, Rachel had cooked a traditional Israeli meal with hummus, falafel, and matzo ball soup. Jack had honestly not had too much of the local food since the American division had their own mess hall serving the typical military grub, but the hummus was better than the Sabra and Tribe stuff appearing in Walmarts and supermarkets back home. As for the rest, he found it tasty too, even if he had nothing to compare it to. Jack smiled contently as they lay on the beach, watching the seagulls fly above in the cloudless blue sky. He truly wished this moment would last forever, seeing Rachel's hair flickering in the ocean breeze. They had only seen each other a few times but she was really opening up, sharing so much of her life with him.

"I didn't know you were such an amazing cook," Jack told her as they finished their meal.

"So everyone tells me," she replied with a smile. "Learned it from my mom, passed down from generation to generation. If you want to taste more of the Friedman family recipes, you should join us for Hanukkah. My folks would love to meet you. I know it's not your holiday, but it's still something for you this holiday season while you're so far from home."

"You told your parents about me already?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yeah, and I showed them our pictures from our time downtown too. We were actually talking about _Mockingjay _when I mentioned I'd seen it with you."

"They don't…um…..you went out with a foreigner, an American gentile, isn't that what you….."

"It's totally cool!" she exclaimed, "We're not like those Orthodox people. My folks like you a lot based on what I've told them about you. Besides they're surprisingly supportive of me moving to the US. Just submitted my applications yesterday, by the way."

"Will it be hard for you, living so far away?"

"All the places I'm applying to are close to my cousins, the University of Maryland campuses close to Baltimore, plus WVU and NC State. Yes I'm proud to be serving in the army, but I wish we didn't have to. Every time I go on duty at the airport, I think about how lucky I am. Several people from my high school were sent to Lebanon and never came home. I have friends in Jerusalem now having rocks thrown at them by the Palestinians. There was another suicide bombing that killed six of our soldiers in Bethlehem. You never feel truly safe anywhere in Israel, the wall can't stop every attack, and more and more rockets are reaching Tel Aviv every year. I just want a normal life in a normal country for myself and my future kids."

"I've also been thinking about the future," Jack said, "And BXJ Technologies does have offices around Baltimore, Morgantown, and Research Triangle. They've also perfected the work from home thing. I haven't talked to my dad yet but at least he'll be happier than when I left Los Angeles. I thought about what you said, I can be in BXJ, but I'm not going to make that my life. That's where I'm going to be different than my father and Graem. That is, if you don't mind seeing more of me stateside."

Jack was surprised all this came out, but Rachel wrapped her arms around him. She massaged his neck and gently pressed her forehead against his. Jack felt nervous because he had so much more invested in this moment than he had wooing the girls back in Santa Monica but he kissed her gently on her lips. "That won't be a problem, Jack. I do enjoy your company."

DEFENSE MINISTRY, JERUSALEM, 15 HOURS BEFORE DAY ZERO

"So you printed all the tickets for tomorrow's concert? Everyone will be there?" Nakkash Bin Rahal said into his phone as he paced around his safe house, a large, sprawling warehouse complex in the Arab district of Jaffa.

"Yes, finally. Can't wait to see the show. I will talk to you soon."

Israeli Military Chief of Staff Timur Sokolow disconnected the call and stared out the windows of his seventh floor office at the lights of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock was lit up brightly as was the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This land had been a scene for fighting since the beginning of time. The soil of the holy land was soaked with the blood of Israelites, Philistines, Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Crusaders, Ottomans, the British colonialists, and now the Israelis and Palestinians. Yet what he would help achieve soon would change this land, and the entire world forever.

Timur Sokolow was not Israeli by birth. He was born in Warsaw to a Polish Jewish family. During the Cold War, his father had been a political officer with the Polish Army, making sure the military officers and enlisted men he was assigned to continued to support their revolutionary socialist comrades in Moscow. His mother was a mid-level employee with the health ministry, diverting Poland's scare medical resources to the ideological elite and away from the proletariat that the Communist Party claimed to serve. Sokolow was sixteen when the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa overthrew Poland's Communist regime. One day, authorities from the new democratic government sought out the elder Sokolow's arrest for the torture and murder of over a dozen political dissidents. Refusing to be taken alive, he went out in a blaze of gunfire in the streets of Warsaw, holding off police and shouting Communist slogans for several minutes before finally being cut down in a hail of bullets.

With the Soviet Union in its death throes and Red Square itself filled with anti-communist demonstrators, Timur Sokolow's mother knew their time in Eastern Europe was running out and the West was not an option. The atheist Sokolow family never had a strong Jewish identity, but their Jewish ancestry qualified them for automatic Israeli citizenship. Timur Sokolow already had combat experience with Polish paramilitaries, so he quickly excelled after joining the Israel Defense Forces in his new country. Sokolow joined the IDF special forces, received several combat medals in Lebanon, and quickly rose through the ranks. After all, ever since his childhood in Poland, killing was what he was best at. However, the son of revolutionary socialists never completely fit in here.

Sokolow was greatly influenced by his father's socialist beliefs and hated Israel's free market economy and the Western influences that permeated this country. He was disgusted watching middle class Israelis in shopping malls and fast food restaurants while people elsewhere in the region starved. It was like a dagger piercing his heart to think that his native Poland would one day be similar, with billboards of Communist leaders replaced by the logos of multinational corporations, with the youth embracing American style consumerism the way people in Israel did. Due to his father's influence, Sokolow felt a connection to the Arabs and Muslims in Israel, and especially to the Palestinians living behind the checkpoints and barriers in the impoverished territories. in Sokolow's socialist worldview, Israel was a neo-colonialist nation dispossessing the indigenous Palestinians. Timur Sokolow was gradually drawn to Islam. It was a channel for his alienation and rejection of Western society as it was for many other converts. It was in Islam, and the Koran's accounts of victorious jihad, that Sokolow found purpose and inspiration. He became Hamas's highest sleeper agent and mole inside Israel. He had offered to use his rising position within the IDF to help fight what he saw as injustices against Muslims but his contacts in Hamas told him to just hang in there, and be patient, for the day shall come. It had been a long wait, Sokolow thought, but _inshallah _the day was finally here.

11 HOURS BEFORE DAY ZERO

"You know I gotta be a good role model and leader tomorrow!" Rachel laughed, clearly having a slight buzz going on. The next day, instead of her usual airport duties, she would be going to Ariel Sharon High School in suburban Tel Aviv to give the students an intro on their required military service. There would also be a Birthright Israel group from the United States joining them. For the 20 or so Jewish American college students from across the country, it was an added immersion activity, to visit an Israeli high school and get a crash course on how the IDF worked.

"Tomorrow's another day," Jack said, downing another shot of Jim Beam, "Plus you basically live upstairs!" He went back up to the crowded bar but the bartender immediately went to Jack after he put some US dollars on the bar top. "Another one?"

"No, I'm getting this round!" Rachel said, squeezing next to him. "What you want this time? C'mon I insist!"

Jack thought for a moment. "Soco lime." Rachel nodded but the bartender looked confused.

"Southern Comfort and lime," Jack clarified.

The bartender still had a blank face. "You mean, a lime inside, or lime juice or….."

On a different night, weeks ago, Jack might have grown frustrated. What kind of bartender didn't know how to make a SoCo lime? But Jack was approaching the line between buzzed and slightly tipsy. He also realized he was in a foreign country and he should consider himself lucky Southern Comfort was offered at all. Above all, Jack needed to stay classy for her. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but Jack saw Rachel there with her playful look and knew he had to not be so brash. He needed to remain calm, and chill out. She had already seen him upset when she first met him, and Jack wanted to convince her that was an especially bad day completely atypical for him. "Just Soco straight for me, and another Malibu pineapple for her," Jack told the bartender politely.

"You don't think I can do it, Jack?" Rachel challenged him. "Two Southern Comfort shots," she told him in Hebrew, then added with a smile, "Top it off good, okay? He's U.S. military." The bartender nodded respectfully and got one of the larger cups that mixed drinks were typically served in. More than either them bargained for, for sure. The bartender actually them a discount but she made up for it with a generous tip.

"You sure?" Jack asked but Rachel was so intent on having a good time. Jack's mind had never been so clouded and clear at the same time. There was no past, no future, just the two of them, right here, right now. Maybe he shouldn't drink any more, but the two large shots were already there. Sure, she had drank much less than him that night, but he didn't want her to miss her assignment at the school tomorrow.

"Of course!" she said with a flirtatious grin. "What are we gonna drink to, Jack?"

"How about to the sweetest, funniest, most beautiful girl I've ever been interrogated by?" Jack said, looking into her green eyes as she brushed back some of her wavy hair.

Rachel blushed and added, "And to us doing this again in America year. I'll be 21 by then!" She brought the cup to her mouth and took the entire shot. Jack did not even flinch but grinned at the expression on her face. He handed her his half finished Budweiser bottle as a chaser and she gratefully took a large gulp. She then took some change and went over to the jukebox.

"Got a song in mind?" Jack asked, forcing himself to stay as sober as possible.

"Heck yeah! I don't think they'll ever play it on the radio here, but my cousin sent it to me, said it's very popular in the U.S. right now." She did the Super Search on the jukebox and pulled up one of the new additions, "Roller Coaster" by Luke Bryan.

"I've never heard of Luke Bryan before," Jack admitted. "Must not my usual kind of music. People in L.A. don't listen to this kind of stuff." Jack was mostly a fan of punk rock and heavy metal.

"C'mon I can't get it out of my head! Plus when I go to America it won't be California." The song began to play and as the bartender saw the two of them still together he turned up the volume on the audio slightly. A slow contemporary country-pop song began playing. The melody was far softer and gentler than the stuff Jack typically listened to but eased up. He couldn't make sense of the lyrics, just something about a guy and a girl at a beach. But the beat and the slick, polished instrumentation was perfect and Jack and Rachel held hands and embraced as the music played. Jack could taste the SoCo on her lips as they began kissing in the middle of the dance. It was not like that kiss after their second date. This was passionate. She leaned her head against his chest and shoulder as the two swayed back and forth amid the flashing disco lights and lasers of the dance floor. Jack's face was soothed by her soft hair which was fragrant with the strawberry shampoo she had showered with before coming out. As the song ended, however, the lights came on all over the bar and the bartender announced last call.

8 HOURS BEFORE DAY ZERO

"Obviously, I'm in no position to drive you home," Rachel said as they left the bar. "Just stay with me tonight. My roommates are both out of town so it should be nice and quiet." Amid the alcohol in his system, Jack didn't how to feel. It was already clear she was different than Marilyn, who had made love to him the night of their first date. Rachel was different. Maybe she didn't want to rush into it too quickly. She was probably one of those girls who wanted to wait until it was a more serious relationship. She came from a quite secular Jewish background, but her religion still might play a role, perhaps not too different that many Christians back in the United States.

Maybe that wasn't so bad, Jack thought. Despite being younger than him by two years, Jack was taken aback by her maturity sometimes. Maybe it didn't hurt to wait and make it more meaningful. Besides she wasn't just a hookup or a fling. He was falling for who she was as a person, and just wanted to spend more time with her. This was certainly unexpected. Jack had absolutely no idea what was in her head. _I better not think about this right now, not when I'm like this._

"Thank God my R and R continues all the way through tomorrow," Jack commented.

"Oh so you don't even have to be there in the afternoon?" Rachel asked in surprise. "In that case just tag along with me tomorrow."

"That's okay, I can catch a taxi in the morning."

"Nah, you'll get to meet some of your fellow Americans, and we get to spend more time together. The local kids will also love meeting an American."

Rachel lived on the 15th floor of a modern high-rise apartment building with a concrete and glass façade in downtown Tel Aviv. He was impressed they rode the elevator up, one of those that announced the floor number as the doors opened.

"IDF must pay their soldiers much better than the US Army," Jack remarked as they entered her contemporary apartment. "This place is amazing." The place was not much by American standards but not bad for Tel Aviv. They had a big screen plasma TV, a neatly arranged kitchen, lots of feminine features like flower pots, and a large floor to ceiling window overlooking the skyscrapers of the financial district.

"My dad does help out a little bit," she admitted, "But mostly I had a lot saved from my summer in America. And don't forget we split the rent three ways." American dollars always was great with currency exchange anywhere in the world except Western Europe.

The alcohol was definitely taking affect now as the later shots began to register in Jack's system. He followed Rachel as she entered her bedroom. When he was halfway to the bed, however, she tossed him a large pillow.

"That blanket should still be on the couch," she told him, "Sweet dreams, Jack. We have a long day tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note – If the contrast between this chapter and the last is extreme, that's been the point all along. _

10:00 AM – DOWNTOWN APARTMENT, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

"Jack? Get up!" Jack Bauer hadn't found it so hard to get up in ages as he heard a voice call out his name. He had definitely had too many shots of Jim Beam and Southern Comfort the night before. He jolted awake though as he felt a poke in his stomach. He quickly came to his senses as he got up from the couch. "Wow you're ticklish aren't you there? Looks like you slept well! We got about an hour before we have to go."

Jack quickly came back to his senses as his headache subsided ever so slightly. The clock on the TV read 10:01 AM and the entire apartment was basked in rays of light from the mid-morning sun. That was quite a night last night, now back to reality. Rachel Friedman stood over him with a towel wrapped around her body, her hair still wet. "I'm done with the bathroom. You can shower now while I fix us some breakfast."

HAMAS SAFE HOUSE, JAFFA NEIGHBORHOOD

The Hamas safe house was located in a dingy industrial neighborhood . Nakkash Bin Rahal stepped into the middle of the large, sprawling warehouse from his office. There were two trucks rented from an Israeli moving company parked in the middle of the facility, in addition to several large crates unloaded from the Jordanian diplomatic shipment that had made an unscheduled diversion to Tel Aviv before continuing onto the Port of Ashdod in southern Israel and sending the actual humanitarian part of the cargo onto a freighter bound for Sangala. Gathered throughout the warehouse were more than fifty of Hamas's most experienced fighters who have waged war against the Israelis and other Palestinian factions for years. Each and every man had sworn his willingly to martyr himself for Allah. The warehouse was also stacked with an entire arsenal of rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles, armor piercing rounds, claymore and C4 explosives, and hand grenades. Diplomatic immunity is certainly great, Nakkash thought to himself. Of course King Hussein, the apostate Western puppet, would be outraged that his subordinates with diplomatic credentials would so brazenly support an internationally recognized terrorist organization. But he was losing control of his nation. The forces of jihad were unstoppable, and after this day was over, it wouldn't matter what King Hussein or any other American-friendly regime thought anyway.

"Malik, are you and Bilal ready?" Nakkash asked two from his inner circle. Both Malik and Bilal were devout Muslims with thick beards and green kaffiyehs around their heads with Koranic verses and Palestinian slogans inscripted in Arabic.

"Yes, _emir_," Malik replied. "Your source in the Israeli government is reliable. I just received word from Osama in the target neighborhood. All the IDF deployments in the Tel Aviv area are as usual. They will never see this coming."

Nakkash smiled. "Our other teams are also standing by and awaiting my orders."

"What about Mahmoud?" Bilal inquired. "Everything is fine on his end? I haven't heard from him since we arrived here."

"Yes, _mujahid_," Nakkash replied, patting him on his shoulder. "Mahmoud has gone dark just as we have, but I assure you it will not be for long."

Bilal nodded. "Allah be praised."

Nakkash beamed proudly as his men prepared the weapons and got ready to board the two trucks. He never thought this day would really come. A year ago he and his men were scurrying around the tunnels and alleyways of Gaza like rats. Now he had an entire army deep in the heart of Israel, ready to strike a devastating blow that would bring their enemy to its knees, and then some. _I am the sword of Allah, the vengeance of Islam_, Nakkash thought to himself. The days of hiding from Israeli airstrikes and Mossad and CIA hit teams was over. Today, Nakkash and his holy warriors would charge in the name of the Koran, and strike terror deep into the heart of the infidels. The day of reckoning was at hand.

10:15 – DOWNTOWN APARTMENT

Jack's head cleared and he reflected back on the night before as he showered and shaved. Yes that was too much alcohol, but it was the best night he'd had in years. In fact, the past few weeks was probably some of the most satisfying he had known ever since his mother passed away. He thought back to the long slow dance to the country ballad he had never heard before, to that romantic dinner after the movie, and to that quiet afternoon on that beachside cliff, staring out at the ships far out on the horizon and enjoying a nice lunch under the sun. It had taken him several years and a trip to a foreign land, but Jack had finally found a woman he truly felt a connection to. He didn't even believe his rebellious spirit could ever be tamed, but it might well be happening. And with Rachel's plans to go to school in America, maybe this could all work out.

A familiar comforting aroma greeted Jack as he finished putting on his clothes, some cammo pants and an Army t-shirt. He also had a light jacket just in case it was still cold outside. He was surprised how chilly this place could still get in December. Rachel was already in her olive green IDF uniform as she scooped the food off the frying pan and into a plate for him. She had prepared a traditional American breakfast with scrambled eggs with cheese, home fries, biscuits, bacon strips and a sausage patty. "Just in case you're homesick," she said.

"You never cease to impress me, Rachel. Hell, this is better than Denny's," Jack told her as they sat down at the dining table next to the floor to ceiling window. The window offered a view of the glass and steel Azrieli Center, a collection of modern downtown office blocks that's become a Tel Aviv landmark, and the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea in the far distance. Jack began eating. "You can obviously do the non-kosher stuff too. Much better than the mess hall crap. Learn this in Maryland?"

"Partly, plus that famous cookbook called Google." Jack smiled and thought about the conversation he would have with his father. Okay, he was interested in giving BXJ Technologies a try when he returned to the U.S. His dad might not like him getting a position in Maryland, West Virginia, or North Carolina but he would be happier than if Jack continued his refusal to consider BXJ at all. If Rachel wasn't ambitious or hard driven enough for Philip Bauer, though, that was just too damn bad.

"Rachel," Jack finally said as they finished eating and sipped on their orange juice, "I've been thinking a lot about the last couple weeks, about last night especially. I need to be open about this. You may not believe me, but I've never met anyone like you before. You…." He looked at the sunlight dancing across her face giving those green eyes a sparkle. She also looked fit and healthy in that uniform she was wearing. "You've taught me so much about life, helped me discover things about myself I didn't even know. Even given me a new perspective on life. I've been thinking a lot about us, what we have going on here, and I want us to be serious about it." Part of Jack was afraid there would be some hesitancy on her part but she just smiled and kissed him again.

"Rachel, I'm falling in love with you." He finally said. She didn't say anything but just sensually massaged his neck as they leaned into one another.

"Jack…..I…..when I picked you up that day, I never expected any of this. I didn't even think I'd see you again. Jack I'm falling in love with you too. I _am _in love…."

Before she could finish, there was a loud, thundering blast and the entire building shook on its foundations. The large glass windows shattered in a hundred pieces. On instinct, Jack shoved Rachel to the ground and covered her body with his own as shards of glass rained down on the carpet all around them. There was a secondary boom further away and the sound of car alarms and the screams of people filled the air, audible even 15 floors above. Both were in shock for several long seconds, then they smelled the acrid black smoke that was rising into the sky in two plumes.

Jack and Rachel carefully went to another shattered window and looked down. The two explosions had taken place within a half mile of the apartment building. A few blocks away to the east, flames were spreading out of control from a popular coffee shop and street café. Dozens of dead and dismembered bodies were scattered across an entire intersection. Panicking civilians ran around screaming for help as several survivors walked around aimlessly in shock. A little to the west, they saw that another explosion had completely destroyed a public bus which would have been packed at this hour, plus several cars. The explosives used were obviously much stronger than the ones traditionally used in Palestinian suicide bombings. The blast radius was at least a hundred feet and buildings on the entire block was damaged. Workers poured out of the businesses and offices around the blast site.

10:25 AM – TEL AVIV BEACHFRONT

The next attack took place within minutes. A Hamas suicide bomber drove his motorcycle rapidly through downtown's modern streets, emerging on Tel Aviv's beachfront. The promenade was filled with civilians from all walks of life. Retired people, off duty soldiers, local residents, and foreign tourists all liked to frequent the beach even in December. The _shaheed _looked up and down the promenade and saw where a large crowd had gathered to watch some street musicians at a pavilion playing some jazz music. Nobody paid attention to him as he made a right turn onto the oceanfront boulevard. He wore Western clothing and his Arab features were hidden by his black motorcycle helmet. He wore a jacket, which would have drawn attention in a warmer time of year, but was this was December and some people were more sensitive to the weather than others.

Without warning, the jihadi turned his bike out of the traffic lanes and into the crowd, screaming his Islamic declaration of faith as he detonated his suicide vest and the explosives on his bike at once. Nakkash's bombmakers had packed this bomb with ball bearings that spread out in all directions, the devastation spreading across the crowd like a hail of bullets. Men, women, and children fell dead and dying in bloody heaps as a wall of flame followed, swallowing up the entire pavilion. As the paramedics arrived on scene, they would also discover that the bomb contained anticoagulant compounds to make sure many of the wounded bled out. The wave of ball bearings spread across the wide boulevard, adding people in a commercial gym and doctors office across the street to the list of casualties.

RAMAT AVIV MALL, TEL AVIV

The Nissan Pathfinder had been driven from the safe house the day before and parked overnight at a public garage. The driver checked the time on his cell phone and did the speed limit as he drove down Einstein Street toward the Ramat Aviv Mall, one of the city's largest. Attached to the mall was a high-rise office building housing thousands of workers. The driver smiled as he received text messages confirming the successful attacks at the beach and downtown. _We love death the way you love life_, a Hamas spokesman had once declared publicly. The driver agreed as the thoughts of being in paradise with his brothers filled his mind. The 16 year old from the Gazan town of Rafah floored the accelerator, the Pathfinder racing across the plaza in front of the Ramat Gan mall, heading for the entrance by the food court. He would tear a path of destruction through the mall and then bring down the office building.

Fortunately for the occupants of the tower, however, there was a group of four off-duty IDF soldiers leaving an electronics store near the mall entrance who saw the vehicle speeding toward the building. Their radios had already gone crazy with reports of the other suicide attacks that had rocked Tel Aviv within the last half hour. The Israeli soldiers quickly turned their M-16 assault rifles and opened fire on the Pathfinder, aiming at both the tires and at the driver. Several rounds of gunfire tore into the driver's body but he hardly felt anything in all his adrenaline and exhilaration. The front wheels were destroyed and shot out but vehicle still went forward, crashing into the food court. The soldiers raced after it, firing on it from the back and another round went through the driver's back. Knowing he wouldn't make it all the way to the center of the structure, the terrorist detonated the vehicle early. More than forty people were killed in the mall and several in the tower above from smoke inhalation, but at least the building remained standing.

10:45

Rachel dialed her cell phone frantically as she drove her Ford Focus northbound on the Ayalon Highway with Jack in the passenger seat, heading toward Tel Aviv's northern suburbs, where Ariel Sharon High School was located. She had checked in with her commanding officer who only had sketchy reports on what exactly had happened. There were emergency calls all over the city. All he was able to tell her was that Ben Gurion Airport was safe, that the Iron Dome interceptors had been activated to protect the terminal buildings from any aerial threat and that the military forces currently on duty there could lock down the airport on a moment's notice. Her orders were to continue as planned to Sharon High.

The American Birthright group would also still be joining them too. If anything, they would be safer outside of downtown anyway, and the rest of their day's itinerary would take them further north to the Sea of Galilee. The thinking also went, especially on a day like this, some extra soldiers at the school would give the students and parents more ease of mind. Jack was completely shocked at the decisions coming down the Israeli chain of command. If something like this happened in America, all schools in the area would be closed or at least on lockdown but in Israel, life just went on. It seemed here, terrorist attacks were just part of life itself, like car accidents and break-ins in Los Angeles. Jack had never felt so scared in his life. He had trained for combat and been stationed in Saudi Arabia and Qatar but never seen anything like this. He felt the blast from the twin suicide bombings that had taken place mere blocks from Rachel's apartment building. He looked at Rachel as she spoke frantically into her phone in Hebrew, telling her family she was okay and to stay home if possible and avoid the city. _That was a close call. We'll get through this, we'll both be in America soon and never have to deal with this again. _

11:15 AM – ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL, NORTHERN SUBURBS OF TEL AVIV

Ariel Sharon High School, with a student body of 1500, was one of the newest and largest high schools in Israel. Construction finished about three years ago and despite opposition from the leftist parties, it was named after the recently deceased past Prime Minister of Israel. It was located in an upper middle class neighborhood, suburban by local standards, but still much more densely populated than the average American suburb. The single family homes had small yards, and many residents in the area still lived in apartments and townhouses. That was another thing that was so great and special about the U.S., Jack thought. Here and in the European and Middle Eastern countries he'd been to, most people still couldn't afford the good life of suburban and rural America.

"Hey, you okay?" Jack asked Rachel as they pulled into the parking lot. "Glad your family's fine."

Rachel was clearly shaken up by what had happened. "That was a close call," she admitted, "So close to where I live. I'm afraid to watch the news and discovering how many were killed." A few tears fell from her eyes Jack gave her a comforting hug and gently wiped her tears away with a napkin.

"I'm here, okay, Rachel? It's going to be okay. You just do what you gotta do here, focus on these kids and the tour group. I would be lying if I said I wasn't also shaken up, but I'm right here for you." Despite Rachel's uniform and assault rifle, she was not a combat soldier. She had basic training like all IDF soldiers did, but it was nothing like what Christopher Henderson had put Jack and his men through.

She nodded and held his hand tight. "You don't know how glad I am that you're here. Plus those Americans are probably freaking out, if we act scared they'll just panic more. They just started sending these Birthright groups again and this happens."

Minutes after they checked in with the two soldiers at the main office, they saw the motorcoach with the American citizens pull up onto the expansive grounds of the high school, driving up the long driveway that led from the residential streets beyond. Jack and Rachel met the American college kids that got off the bus. They were surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Then it occurred to Jack and Rachel that news of the terrorist attacks have only started to break in the media and the full scale wasn't known. Many probably thought it was one of those "minor" attacks with ten or fewer casualties. No that any attack was acceptable, but everything was relative in Israel.

Rachel introduced herself and Jack, and indeed many of the students were surprised to see an American with her. Not wanting them to panic, Rachel reassured them that the authorities had everything in control and that the crisis was over according to the best of their knowledge. She knew that in reality, knowledge was still sketchy, but this was a safe suburban community and not a major terrorist target. Here in the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv the main threat came from Hamas's Iranian-supplied rockets. It was only a few minutes before this group would see the IDF presentation along with half the student body of Sharon High. Then they would have lunch with the Israeli high school kids and be on their way to Galilee.

11:30 AM – GIVITAYIM NEIGHBORHOOD / NORTHERN SUBURBS

"Unfortunately the tower at Ramat Aviv is still standing despite the damage. They say there were IDF soldiers there who opened fire on on martyr," Nakkash said into the phone to his man Osama, who was sitting in a station wagon parked along a commercial side street in the Givitayim neighborhood where the military base was located in. Osama had two more terrorists with him in the back, pretending to take a nap. "You and Aziz are still in position?"

"Yes, emir," Osama replied. "My team and Aziz's are on opposite sides of the base, we will attack simultaneously and inflict maximum casualties before we martyr ourselves."

Nakkash checked his PDA, where Timur Sokolow from the Defense Ministry had sent him a full live map of the Israeli military deployments in the Tel Aviv area. He moved his fingers along the touch screen. The military forces were now heavily concentrated in central Tel Aviv where most of the devastating suicide attacks have taken place. Nakkash himself was dressed in the uniform of the Israeli moving company that owned the trucks, and with the military and police's hands tied with the suicide bombings, they paid no attention to two moving vans in a suburban neighborhood. Many of the forces that were normally stationed here were already recalled to the city.

Nakkash rechecked the GPS coordinates and combined it with the map of IDF units. He also had access to radios, and his Israeli Arab recruit, Khattab, translated the Hebrew voices into Arabic for him. The route to Ariel Sharon High School was wide open.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note - Season 10: God's Country WILL be updated soon, just got this one done first. Two stories that are so different, yet alike in some ways. _

DAY ZERO CHAPTER 5

11:30 AM – ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

A red haired girl in the group caught Rachel's eye because of her WVU sweatshirt. "Love your shirt, I'm actually applying to WVU for next year."

"Thanks! You'll love it. We're always one of the top five parties schools in America!" the redhead said with obvious pride. She introduced herself as Erika Rogers, a sophomore from the Columbus area. She also mentioned she was a cheerleader for the West Virginia Mountaineers. "We're crazy about football. Even if you're not at first, you will be after a semester there."

"How do you like Israel so far?" Rachel asked.

"Well…just….different, you know?" Erika said. "This is only my second time outside America. First time was Cancun. At least in Mexico I was able to speak a little Spanish, here I don't know any Hebrew besides _shalom_." This was supposedly the Jewish "homeland", but Erika definitely wasn't feeling it. This was a world away from her split level house in Ohio or the bustling college scene of Morgantown. "I _am _having an amazing time though."

"Nothing to worry about, I've helped with lots of these tours and not many are fluent in Hebrew except those who went to private Jewish schools in the U.S. I'm sorry all this is happening during your trip. I'm glad you chose to visit us instead of just going to Florida."

Erika told her as they walked into the building, "Florida costs money which I pretty short of right now. I met my dad for the first time two years ago and he's Jewish. I know all about the Irish stuff from my mom, but I've always wondered about this side of my heritage. I find the ancestry thing really interesting, especially how even though my dad's side is from Czechoslovakia they're also from here in a way. Then I saw an ad for this in the WVU student newspaper. I was like great deal, why not?"

GIVITAYIM DISTRICT, TEL AVIV, NEAR THE MILITARY BASE

Osama pulled his station wagon back into traffic, heading up a small hill toward the Givitayim military base. He could part of the military compound from the streets below, including the Israeli and American flags flying high above the main buildings. The neighborhood was obviously frequented by the soldiers stationed at the facility. Osama turned into an alleyway as he saw two Jeeps and a tarp covered truck with the insignias of the Israel Defense Forces on them. "This is it," he told his men who got out of the station wagon, removing a covering from the rear of the vehicle, revealing two Bazookas and an anti-tank missile launcher. "Wait until they're past us."

A couple minutes later, the small IDF convoy went past the alleyway. Osama turned and saw a civilian walking toward the alley and gasping as the site of the weaponry. He quickly fired two silenced gunshots through the man's heart. Osama and the two other attacked quickly made their way to the main avenue and aimed at the convoy. Osama fired the shoulder-launched anti-tank missile, a white smoke following it as it hit the tarp truck, killing ten soldiers on board. Soon the other terrorists attacked with the Bazookas, destroying the Jeeps. Two wounded soldiers crawled from the wreckage, screaming in pain. Osama went over with his AK-47 assault rifle.

"Please, don't kill me," one of the wounded soldiers begged.

"There is a price for occupation, _kafir_," spat Osama.

"Please….I have never served in the territories….."

Osama waved his arms around at the street around him. "All this here is occupation."

Osama fired a burst of automatic gunfire, killing the man, then did the same to the other surviving soldier. His men then fired an anti-tank missile into a crowded apartment building, sending glass and pieces of concrete raining down all over the street. They fired some more and unleashed a wave of bullets on the crowds of fleeing civilians.

BASE COMMAND

Captain Christopher Henderson immediately turned his head out the window when he heard the first explosions, then saw the black smoke rising from the neighborhood just outside the base.

"Sergeant!" he ordered as he walked out of his office, seeing Sergeant Darius Greene coming up the stairwell. "We need to be on combat stations now, we're under attack, this is not a drill."

"Yes, sir."

Greene went into a comms room and send the alert out while sirens blared around the base. A mile away, on an apartment balcony, the terrorist Aziz unleashed another wave of anti-tank missiles. One of them hit an IDF transport helicopter as it was coming in for landing at Givitayim. The missile impacted the tail, tearing it off, sending the helicopter into an uncontrolled spin. Soon the chopper slammed into the tarmac, exploding in a fireball as sparks and wreckage destroyed several other aircraft on the crowd. Another missile hit the control tower, sending the burning bodies of soldiers stationed their sailing through the air over a hundred feet to the concrete ground below.

Henderson quickly got General Adi Wasser, the Israeli commander of the base on the phone.

"What kind of hostiles are we dealing with?" Henderson inquired quickly.

"We're not sure yet," Wasser answered in heavily accented English. "One of our convoys was ambushed in the neighborhood, over twenty of my soldiers were killed."

"Jesus Christ, and I'm seeing another missile launch from the east, from my 4 o'clock…..we're taking cover now. I don't know if they have the schematics and building plans to this base."

"We're sending more forces out. We believe they may try to breach the security, that's always a possibility. They're sending some Navy aircraft from Ashdod just in case."

"General Wasser, I can send my teams out to engage the hostiles. We don't have control over the sky yet. I need your authority to pursue and engage the terrorists."

"You have it! Keep me updated, Captain Henderson!" Soon an armored personnel carrier leaving its parking area also suffered a direct hit, instantly killing every soldier on board.

FITNESS CENTER, MILITARY BASE

Lance Sizemore was in the weight room doing a heavy muscle workout when the skylights shattered, then a rocket hit the room, sending metal beams crashing from the roof. Lance immediately dove away from the machine, the weights clanging to the floor. He had his gun in a moment, as did the other soldiers in the facility. He received the order from Henderson to prepare to leave the base and engage the attackers in the neighborhood outside. This was not supposed to be happening, Lance thought to himself. He heard stories of US military bases under attack in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this was completely unexpected. Somehow, terrorists had managed to launch a coordinated assault deep into the Israeli heartland. Lance quickly pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. Didn't matter how he ended up here, but he was now at war, and he was ready to fight for the men around him.

GIVITAYIM STREETS

"Osama, they are sending forces your way. Also our team also needs to switch positions!" Aziz radioed. The Arab terrorists on Osama's team were packing up and going toward a different floor of the apartment building.

"Are you sure? The Israelis will never attack you from that far with their mortars or airstrikes. They may not care about our martyred women in children in Gaza, but they will not risk killing their own civilians."

"They'll send commandos here, we must keep moving. We will be in another overlook position soon. How are things there?"

Four police cars now pulled up with their sirens blaring. Osama fired a rocket straight into the first one, destroying it and sending two of the other cars flipping over and over onto the street. The other Palestinians unleashed a full volley of AK-47 fire, cutting down the officers who tried to make it to safety. More military units were approaching.

ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

Rachel was finishing up her presentation as Jack also listened. He loved her engaging personality so much and couldn't wait to be with her back home. She could really hold an audience and would make a great teacher someday, Jack thought.

She finished her PowerPoint presentation with a picture of her and some fellow soldiers making goofy faces at the airport food court. "So that's the internal security division, specifically Ben Gurion airport. We also have resources on other kinds of positions but I hope that was interesting. If you're lucky, I might see some of you again at the airport when you're flying back."

Next up was someone from a combat brigade who had served in anti-terrorist operations in the West Bank. After this, the American visitors would join half the regular student body for lunch and Rachel would be giving the Hebrew version to the juniors and seniors in the auditorium.

"Hey that was interesting," David Glick, a 21 year old New Yorker attending the University of Michigan said to Erika. "I want to come here and fight. This terrorism against our people is insane." Unlike Erika or some of the others in their group, David grew up in a heavily Jewish area and had a strong ethnic and religious identity. In the Northeast everyone seemed to have a very ethnic identity, whether you were Irish, Italian, Polish, Chinese, Mexican or whatever. He faithfully attended a synagogue his entire life and was involved heavily with the Jewish community on Long Island. It enraged him to see anti-Israeli protests on campus put on by a coalition of Arab, Muslim, and liberal student organizations.

"I guess I should be glad the girls aren't put in combat positions," Erika remarked. "But you could have joined the Marines a few years ago, hero."

"Wouldn't have made the cut, but it's so inspiring being here, meeting these soldiers." David also wanted to act tough, since he had wanted to make advances on Erika since the beginning of this trip. David didn't care that already mentioned having a boyfriend in Morgantown that she's been dating for a year despite the flirtatious advances of Division I football players. He wouldn't mind driving from Michigan to Morgantown to see her, he thought. He lowered his voice. "Can't believe this girl actually admitted she wanted to abandon Israel and marry a _goyim._ I thought this tour was supposed to inspire us to be more Jewish and to return to Israel."

"It's a heritage and immersion stuff, not all of them have to push something. Rachel there was just being honest about herself, nothing wrong with that." Erika replied. She was having a great time here, but she would never dream of living outside the United States away from her family and friends and everything that was familiar to her and neither would most people here with them. She also completely understood Rachel for wanting to go to America. The proud Mountaineer cheerleader really hoped she would end up at WVU.

11:45 AM

Jack and Rachel's phones rang almost simultaneously with emergency alerts. They excused themselves as the combat soldier continued speaking to the American students. They went out into the hallway, looking out at the courtyard outside. The high school was three stories around a central courtyard with a pond in the middle, with two additions, plus the cafeteria and auditorium.

Rachel spoke with her command again. "Jack, Givitayim is under attack!"

Jack nodded as it was confirmed by Henderson. "Sir…..I can head back as soon as I can….."

"Your R and R is over. We have a crisis on our hands right here. Where the hell are you?"

"I'm with my friend from the IDF. We're north of…..."

"Just make sure you're secure and get back here down. We're under attack from two directions, remember the simulation, report to rally point Charlie outside the base in case this still isn't taken care of. And hurry the hell up, Private Bauer."

"Yes, sir."

MAIN ENTRANCE, ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

"What's that, we didn't know there was a delivery," the young female soldier at the security desk said. Her partner got up in surprise too, heading out to check it out. Suddenly from both sides of the door, more than ten Muslim terrorists entered, shouting "Allah Akbar" and "Death to infidels" in Arabic. Nakkash Bin Rahal fired a burst into the male soldier, then turned the gun on the woman, killing her before she could speak again.

"Malik, come with me to the office. Bilal, you and your team secure the auditorium. Khattab, head to the cafeteria now. Farad, bring me the Americans. Yallah!"

The staff in the main office panicked at the sound of gunfire but within seconds, Nakkash stormed through the door, shooting two secretaries in the chest along with a student waiting to speak to an administrator. On the other end of the office suite, more terrorists attacked the security control center, quickly mowing down three soldiers and demolishing several computers, the smoke of burned electronics and gunpowder filling the air.

Nakkash kicked open another door and saw the principal along with one of his staff members, a middle aged woman who screamed in Hebrew. Another terrorist grabbed another hostage, a female student.

Nakkash grabbed the woman by the neck and slammed her face into the assistant principal's desk. The other terrorist, a bearded, menacing looking Muslim with blazing eyes pressed the muzzle of his pistol against the neck of the whimpering student.

"We won't kill you if you cooperate. Where are the Americans?" Nakkash demanded, looking at the name on the desk. "You will tell me, Mr. Goldberg, or this _sharmoota _dies!"

"Go to hell, you fucking haji scum and fuck Muhammad!" the woman screamed. "You can do what you want, but we won't ever surrender to you people!" Nakkash pulled the trigger, sending her brains and skull matter flying into the principal's face.

"Now that you know I am serious, Mr. Goldberg, I will repeat myself one last time. _Where are the Americans?" _Nakkash shouted with rage, his eyes wide with fury and zealotry. His adrenaline was pumping, and he was exhilarated by the killing he had done. He felt the presence of Allah in him as he entered the building and killed the soldiers and office workers. This was different than fighting Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip or duking it out with rival Palestinian factions. Here, he was bringing death and terror to the enemy's doorstep. Soon, Israel and America will bend, because the will of Allah was unstoppable.

"They….they're in room 118! Don't hurt them, they have nothing to do with your cause."

"That depends on the Israeli and American governments," Nakkash replied, "But we only want the kids. Don't want to deal with too much resistance." Nakkash shot the principal through the heart, the man collapsing backward into his chair. He then turned to the female student, shooting her through the chest as well and shoving her body onto the table. "And just to prove how serious we are."

Nakkash and his terrorist squad went through the office suites, making sure every single person in there was dead. "I want a secure line to all the news networks and to the Prime Minister's office. I also want the American ambassador present."

"What about President Ryan in the White House?" a terrorist asked.

"No, we will put these American lives in the hands of the Israeli government," Nakkash told him. "They are Jews, but they are still U.S. citizens. One of them may be worth more than twenty of the other hostages. The Israelis will do anything to avoid lots of dead Americans and offending their closest ally."

FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY

Jack and Rachel suddenly heard the gunfire as they made their way down the hall toward the entrance to head back to Givitayim in a hurry. Jack glanced two terrorists rounding the corner.

"Over there! Don't move!" they heard screaming in a thick Arabic accent. Jack grabbed Rachel and pulled her with him as he ducked behind a doorway. Rachel began shaking and crying. Jack took the M-16 from her and got ready to fire.

"Rachel! We need to move before more of them get here!"

"Yallah! Yallah! I see two soldiers, kill them!" an Arabic voice screamed.

"Dammit!" Jack cursed. He reached around the corner and fired blindly. He had to pretend this was not real, that it was a training simulation, in order to not panic more than he already was. The two terrorists ducked into opposite doorways as Jack reloaded. Jack cursed at himself for wasting those bullets but at least he distracted the two hostiles. He could hear voices and footsteps from all around now including distant ones from the far end of the hall in the other direction.

Jack turned the corner and was a moment faster than a terrorist in rounding the corner from a doorway. He caught a glimpse of the terrorist's lower leg and shot it, blasting the bone apart. The terrorist fell down screaming and cursing in Arabic, holding his leg as he collapsed to the floor. Jack burst a burst into his head. The other terrorist on the left end of the hall stepped out from his hiding spot, firing a long burst of automatic weapons fire. However Jack had slid along the floor and the terrorist's bullets instead killed two of his comrades approaching from the opposite end.

"I need you to provide some cover fire!" Rachel was still frozen. "Dammit!" he cursed again. Jack aimed at the firing terrorist and took him down with a burst to the chest. He fired down the other end of the hall, killing another terrorist.

He grabbed Rachel. "C'mon, we're almost out of bullets on this gun. I know you're scared. I am too, but you need to remember your training. Remember these scenarios. There's gotta be a simulation you've done for a similar environment during your basic training. You're great with this gun, I saw your Facebook video from the range. We can do this."

Her mouth quivered as tears poured from her eyes. "How can this be happening to us?"

"I don't know, but….." There is more shouting down the hall. Jack grabbed her and headed down the opposite way. Jack fired again, engaging several terrorists in a firefight. "Rachel, we're gonna get out of this together, I promise you. I need you to trust me, please."

She nodded. "Okay, Jack. I'll…."

"Where would the armory be in a typical Israeli high school?" Jack asked, picking up an AK-47 from a fallen Hamas fighter and handing the M16 back to Rachel. "I need something better than this Soviet Russian shit the terrorists use. Rachel, listen to me and stay calm."

"There's always one near the main office," Rachel said. "Another one in this building at the start of the South Wing, I saw it coming in. Once we get to a secure spot I can try to get in contact with command, have them send us the schematics to the building."

"We'll go for the South Wing. The main office will be one of the first areas the hostiles will want to secure. All the stuff downtown was a diversion including the assault on our base. This right here's their primary target. It's what my gut tells me."

They dashed down an empty stretch of corridor. The students were either in the cafeteria or the auditorium. There's got to be insider information given to the terrorists, Jack thought. They wanted all the hostages in a few spots vs taking the rooms one by one.

ROOM 118

David was more inspired as the combat presentation went on. He was surprised Erika wasn't as ethnically minded as he was. Maybe it was different where she was from. Columbus had its various ethnic groups but nothing like the New York area. It seemed more like the kind of place where everybody was just American. It was probably the same in West Virginia, except with more elements of Southern culture mixed in. He liked Erika nonetheless, even if she was too much a product of her suburban Midwestern upbringing. He really wanted to hook up with Erika, one day convince her to come back with him, but if that didn't work, he also didn't mind being in a unit like Rachel's with lots of females. Of course it wouldn't be a combat units, but there were pros and cons to everything.

Suddenly the door flew open as Farad and three other gunmen burst in shouting in unintelligible Arabic and broken English. Farad immediately shot the soldier giving the presentation as his men took positions along the walls of the room. The teacher quickly surrendered and put her hands up in the air but Farad turned the gun on her and killed her anyway. Most of the audience began screaming and covering their heads.

"We only need so many grownup here, right?" he said in Arabic, laughing. His men followed in their sadistic laughter.

"You fucking bastard!" David shouted. The others in the group all urged him to be quiet.

Farad slammed his fist into David's face, sending the young man from New York flying backwards over a desk, his face bloodied. He fired a string of bullets into the ceiling then went over to David, grabbing him and jamming the gun into his stomach. "You think you are tough, you American Jew swine?" Farad pointed at the dead soldier who had been giving the presentation. "That was a trained Israeli war criminal. He could not stop me. You think you can stop us?"

David shook his head and winced in pain. Farad spat on David and spoke to the group.

"We are taking control of this building! All of you, put your hands in the air and stand up now!" A few girls were whimpering and Farad fired onto the floor next to them. "I will not repeat myself again! Yallah!" The hostages nodded in fear. Farad waved his assault rifle around pointed to his Arabic inscripted bandana. "You know what this means? I means we are all prepared to die, so do not provoke us!" Farad screamed menacingly. "Now, my American friends, welcome to Palestine."

SCHOOL EXTERIOR

Another team of terrorists entered through a different door, going past the athletic fields to the back entrance of the auditorium. Malik split his team so they can surround the auditorium, while Bilal's men approached the cafeteria in a similar fashion. Malik yanked open the cafeteria doors from the outside and stepped in along with six more of his armed militants. Malik saw three teachers monitoring the cafeteria and immediately shot them in quick succession, sending students screaming and rushing toward the doors. More terrorists arrived at the interior doors. Malik fired a long burst of automatic gunfire into the ceiling, sending plaster falling all over the students and lunch tables. Two cooks rushed out of the kitchen and were cut down by gunfire.

"Everyone stay still! If you try to escape, we will kill you! If you do not follow our commands we will kill you! Is that clear?" Malik screamed, firing into the air again with a crazed expression on his face. He waved his gun around as his men swarmed the room like a group of angry bees, threatening the students with their guns. Several terrorists also held grenades in their hands. "You try to escape, you die! You challenge us, you die!"

ARMORY

"We don't have much time," Jack says. "Those bastards are everywhere."

Rachel took out her IDF keycard and spoke in Hebrew again to IDF command which had reprogrammed it to give her access to the weapons cache. The keypad clicked open and they entered a small room with M16s and MP5's. "Okay, we're in. Let's lock and load."

"Allah akbar!" they heard a scream as three terrorists sprayed the room with gunfire. A grenade was tossed in their but Jack caught it in midair and hurled it back. The two charging terrorists were surprised at the grenade coming at them and couldn't respond in time. It exploded less than five feet from them, tearing their bodies apart. Rachel rose up from the damaged windows separating the armory from the hallway and fired a burst. Blood spurted from the third terrorist's chest and he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh my God," Rachel said, still shocked but coming to her senses. Jack couldn't describe the relief he felt as she transitioned from panicking girl suddenly in a terrorist crisis to a trained soldier, albeit one who had never intended to see combat. "Jack, okay, they…" she breathed more evenly now. "These are the schematics for the school, I have it on my phone. There's a bathroom not far from here, with access into the ventilation system. The concrete should block whatever heartbeat sensors the terrorists might have."

Jack nodded. "Good thinking. Okay I see where the men's bathroom is, we need to make a dash for it. We have several hostiles approaching. They're still not in complete control of the school yet."

"On my count," Jack said. "1…..2…3!"

Jack and Rachel both emerged from the shattered armory, heading toward an empty math classroom that was a shortcut to the corridor with the bathroom. They both opened fire on a terrorist down the hall, taking him down then ducking into the classroom where a terrorist was in position. Rachel's magazine was out but she pulled out her Glock sidearm and shot the man between the eyes, a blob of blood appearing on the wall behind as he dropped dead. The entered the other hallway where more hostiles were present.

"I'm going to draw their fire, you take them out!" Jack said. Jack reloaded and fired two bursts toward a stairwell, forcing a terrorist to duck and retreat momentarily. "C'mon," Jack waved frantically.

Rachel followed his lead and the two reached the bathroom just as more hostiles closed in. Jack took out his sack, one he got from the armory. He removed an explosive charge and placed it beneath a toilet as he helped Rachel up into the vent first. Arabic screaming could be heard coming down the hall.

"They must be in here! Finish them off!" someone yelled in Arabic. Jack had studied Arabic extensively before and during his joining the military. Rachel, on the other hand, knew nothing of the language but it wasn't hard for her to guess what was being said. Jack finished arming the Claymore mine and the two retreated through the large, wide air vent.

Three of the Arabs approached the bathroom door from the hallway. The first man opened fire into the bathroom in a wide arc. Windows and porcelain sinks and mirrors all shattered into thousands of pieces, clinking onto the linoleum floor. "Looks clear," the first Arab said.

"Up there!" another terrorist pointed at the vent.

The first Arab smiled and chuckled, taking out a grenade. "They must have overestimated us. Let's flush them out."

The terrorist henchman pulled the pin out of the grenade but before he could toss it into the air vent, Jack detonated the Claymore mine. A wall of fire covered the entire bathroom, burning up all three men and shattering windows overlooking the school's courtyard. The explosive force was such that the three terrorists could not be easily identified by their comrades.


	6. Chapter 6

DAY ZERO CHAPTER 6

12:15 PM - SCHOOL ROOFTOP

After securing the auditorium, Bilal went into a maintenance room in the backstage area and climbed a metal ladder leading to the roof. He helped three more terrorists up as they went into the Middle Eastern sunshine that was bright even in December. There were police and military vehicles on the scene entering the school grounds from the surrounding neighborhood. Bilal and his men took positions on the rooftop, setting up two machine gun emplacements. Bilal also got a rocket launcher ready and scanned the roof for other possible defensive positions and patrol routes.

"Get those bastards to pull back!" Bilal said, firing a rocket that sailed out of its launcher and made its way across the soccer field in a matter of seconds, impacting an IDF Humvee. Several soldiers ran from the wreckage, entering the soccer field and firing wildly at the rooftop, trying to pick off the terrorists. Some of the IDF personnel managed to get a few shots in, pocketing the wall of the school with bullet holes. The terrorists unleashed a merciless barrage of heavy machine gun fire. One by one the soldiers dropped like flies, pieces of torn flesh flying in all directions. The wounded were quickly shot again and killed without hesitation.

"Stay back or we kill the hostages!" Malik shouted. "Pull back now!" More police units were arriving and Malik unleashed another rocket. This one made a direct hit on a police van, completely blocking off the residential street approaching the school. The machine guns on the high school roof continued to fire, cutting down a number of police and soldiers as they retreated away from the school grounds.

GIVITAYIM DISTRICT

Lance Sizemore made his way to the top floor of the American headquarters building, one of the easternmost buildings on the military compound. He was the best sniper on the team and knew that the rockets were coming from the east. Henderson sent him to set up position right here while Henderson himself, Darius Greene and other American soldiers drove out of the main gates, heading to the street where Osama and his men had barricaded themselves.

Aziz laughed as he aimed his rocket again, this time from a 7th floor apartment balcony. Using human shields was a lot more effective here in Tel Aviv than in Gaza City, he had discovered. The Israelis would have leveled this entire block if it was in Gaza, but obviously they and their American friends valued Israeli blood much more than Muslim blood. So now the attack continued. He looked in satisfaction at the American flag that had been destroyed in a rocket strike on the headquarters building.

Lance saw the flash as Aziz fired another rocket, this one hitting an aircraft hangar. He adjusted the scope on his sniper rifle and saw the Muslim holding the launcher. Lance squeezed the trigger and Aziz's head disappeared in a puff of red mist. He quickly took down two other terrorists before they could respond. A final terrorist made a run for it but Lance predicted his move and shot him through a window, taking him down. The attacks from the east ceased.

An Israeli surveillance drone from the Ashdod navy base flew over the Givitayim neighborhood, zeroing in on Osama and his men. One of the terrorists was down but Osama and two more remained. The drone sent real time footage and GPS coordinates to Henderson, Greene and others in their squad, who entered one of the buildings, a mixed use commercial-residential structure from the opposite side.

Osama heard the drone and looked up and only saw a gray blob up in the sky. He fired on it in a rage. "You cowards!" The drone was unarmed, but Henderson and Darius appeared in a window above their position, opening fire. The two terrorists next to Osama were killed instantly. Osama looked in shock as his fellow jihadis fell to the street. He turned around and fired up at the window but Darius was already in a different position. Osama scanned the building, but another American soldier opened fire from a different floor, sending Osama on his way to meet Allah.

HIGH SCHOOL MAIN OFFICE

By now, Nakkash's men were in full control of the school and the American hostages had been herded into the upper level of the auditorium and the ones in the cafeteria sent to the gym, which was closer to the auditorium instead of the far side of the building. Khattab and Farad helped some of their comrades wire explosives all around the auditorium and underneath the gym bleachers and along the walls of the gym. Several of the Islamic terrorists also wore suicide vests. Several men haven't checked in yet, but Nakkash felt confident.

"The communications with Jerusalem should be set up, emir," Khattab said, playing around with the damaged electronic equipment. "The IDF is trying to speak to us plus the police outside. I conveyed to them your demands to be on with the Prime Minister."

Nakkash pushed a secretary's dead body out of the way and engaged the school's internal PA system. He spoke in Arabic-accented English, since he knew no Hebrew and Israelis do learn English in school at an early age. "I need everyone's attention right now! We have taken over this building in the name of Hamas. I hope we have demonstrated the consequences of resisting us. All the soldiers stationed here are dead. All of your teachers and adult staff are dead. If you resist or try to escape, you will die too. My men have complete control of this school and have wired the building with explosives. Each and every one of us is prepared to die. How long your ordeal is, and what happens at the end of it depends on your government and how much it values your lives over its policies of imperialism and colonialism."

DEFENSE MINISTRY, JERUSALEM

United States Ambassador Scott Cornett's diplomatic helicopter landed on the grounds of the Israeli Defense Ministry twenty five minutes after it had picked him up from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. He saw the smoke rising from the various attacks that rocked Tel Aviv. He had been in a meeting with American corporate executives when he was interrupted by an urgent summons with classified details. Given the day's events, he knew this was not going to be good. A large Israeli security team greeted the helicopter as the rotors came to a stop. Snipers were set up all over the building and the military presence on the streets of Jerusalem was heavier than usual. Ambassador Cornett had been in Israel for 3 years already and was cynical. The political appointees got both the spiffy diplomatic posts in the European capitals or the idyllic ones like the Bahamas where they basically got paid to sit on the beach and drink margaritas and bail out drunk tourists once in a while. As a career foreign service officer, Cornett and his family had endured years in Third World shitholes like San Salvador, Delhi, Jakarta, and Nairobi. Tel Aviv was meant to be a step up, to prove himself in his job, but Cornett always got the feeling he was set up to fail. Nobody ever truly expected peace here in his lifetime. According to the pastor at Cornett's childhood church, there will never be peace in the Holy Land until Christ's 1000 year reign on Earth following the Rapture and the Tribulation, the Antichrist's broken 7 year treaty with Israel not included. Yet even those who didn't believe in Biblical prophesy knew peace was a long shot given the Arabs and Muslims refusal to even acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Yet if no progress was made in the next year or so, his performance would be seen negatively by the State Department, and the next position in Amsterdam would go to someone else, most likely someone rich and connected with no diplomatic experience whatsoever.

Israeli Prime Minister Jakob Weinstein quickly walked over as Cornett entered the high-tech briefing room with large screens showing footage from the IDF as well as the news media, and maps of Israel, the city of Tel Aviv, and the entire region. "I'm glad to see you again, Ambassador Cornett," he said in accented English, quickly shaking hands with the American diplomat. "Unfortunately we have to get down to business right away."

"Your country has our condolences and President Ryan will be given the necessary updates during his morning briefing," Cornett said. It was still predawn in Washington, D.C. "What's the update on the situation with the bombings?"

"We are still responding to those and I've declared a national state of emergency," Prime Minister Weinstein replied, "The Givitayim neighborhood and the military base also came under attack. Thanks to the quick actions of the American soldiers stationed there, in particular their commander Captain Christopher Henderson, the attack was repelled before the terrorists penetrated the base. We don't believe there were any American casualties."

"Oh my God," Cornett mouthed. He was relieved to hear that no U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded but the fact that the terrorists had launched such a brazen assault deep inside Israel's largest metropolitan area definitely changed the game completely. Maybe his performance evaluation could be based on handling the crisis instead of the peace process, Cornett thought glumly.

"But that's not the most pressing situation. Hamas terrorists led by Nakkash Bin Rahal stormed Ariel Sharon High School in Tel Aviv less than an hour ago. They are holding the entire student body, over 1500 students, hostage."

Cornett gasped. "Nakkash Bin Rahal is on Israeli soil personally leading this attack? Captain Henderson with the U.S. Army detachment at Givitayim reported that Bin Rahal disappeared from Gaza several weeks ago, he said this information was passed onto you."

"Yes it was and we placed extra surveillance on Hamas's suspected new tunnels but we were not able to track him here. Mr. Ambassador, Bin Rahal with be teleconferencing with us in 10 minutes, he demanded your presence. There are forty American citizens among the hostages."

"Jesus Christ! What the hell are they doing there?" Cornett exclaimed.

"One of the Birthright Israel trips. Most of them are college aged kids from the United States."

Ambassador Cornett closed his eyes. This was going to be the longest day of his career. "I need to call Washington. The President's going to have to get up early today."

12:15 PM – VENTILATION SYSTEM

Jack simply couldn't believe it. Barely two hours ago he was having breakfast and sharing a kiss in a sun-splashed living room. Never had a mere two hours left like a completely different universe away. But at least both he and Rachel were alive and unhurt and the terrorists probably didn't have any idea where he was.

"Whew, that was a close call," Rachel said, breathing rapidly but more calm than she ever had been since the terrorist assault on Ariel Sharon High School began. "Good thinking. It's clear you went through some hardcore combat training vs my basic gun range stuff."

Jack kissed her. "You're doing great, okay?"

"I shouldn't have panicked at first. We could have both been killed because of that. You responded better than I did," she said with an embarrassed look.

"Thanks to Captain Henderson," Jack remarked. He was suddenly thankful for every grueling moment Henderson had put him and his squad through at Fort Riley. He didn't blame Rachel for panicking and was just glad she got herself back together. Of course she knew that terrorism could strike anywhere in Israel at any time, but the fact wasn't brought home by her officers the way Henderson did. "We need to assess the situation now. So far the terrorists don't know we're on the loose, at least not yet, but they'll discover some of the bodies soon and begin asking questions."

"Jack," Rachel said, "The communications are still down but in a crisis mode IDF command for the Tel Aviv area will be at the Givitayim base. Our superiors should be coordinating with each other. We should hang tight right now until we can get in touch with them and see what our orders are."

"You're right," Jack told her, "The terrorists definitely have this entire property under their control at this point. We don't have a way out of here."

Rachel nodded. "Even if there was, I'm going to ask them permission to stay and run support. These kids here, I was them just two years ago. You know Jack, of course I've trained for something like this but I just still can't believe it's really happening. All these innocent kids are counting on me and I have to do everything I possibly can for them. That's what I swore to myself when I put on this uniform. I understand if this isn't your fight. You've done enough for me today."

Jack knew how shook up she was by their ordeal so far. Neither of them had even had time to process the realization they had both killed people for the first time. There was no doubt Rachel was afraid despite her insistence on pressing forward and offering all the help she can give. Someone once said being fearless isn't the absence of fear. It's the ability to go forward and face the things that scare you to death.* Jack also knew that he couldn't just walk away from this. There was a reason they were here.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Rachel. I won't let anything happen to you," Jack said, holding her tight. In spite of himself, he gave her the most reassuring look he could manage at the moment. Jack was the one with extensive combat training and battle simulation experience while she only got the basics. He couldn't show his own trepidation at what was going on. He needed her to trust him and be confident in him if either of them was going to get out of this alive.

It seemed to be working. "There's certainly worse people I could be with right now."

DEFENSE MINISTRY, JERUSALEM / ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

Ambassador Cornett, Prime Minister Weinstein, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Doron, and military chief of staff Timur Sokolow were gathered around the conference table as the teleconference began. In Ariel Sharon High School, Nakkash went into the new makeshift communications center behind the auditorium stage.

Nakkash Bin Rahal's image appeared on the large screen. He had changed out of the moving company uniform and how wore a traditional Arab checkered headdress with a green Hamas headband wrapped around it.

"Nakkash Bin Rahal," Weinstein said without additional greetings, "One would think that with all your years fighting us in Gaza, you would have learned by now that the State of Israel does not negotiate with terrorists."

"I see you are as arrogant in person as you are on TV," Nakkash said. "We are freedom fighters. You, your occupation forces, and your American friends are terrorists who occupy and pillage the Nation of Islam. And four years ago, I was in an Israeli military prison being tortured by Mossad by all the techniques they and the CIA came up with, but I did not break. You know why? Because I knew that by the grace of Allah, this day would come. Our holy warriors infiltrated a settlement in East Jerusalem and took three of your soldiers and illegal settlers to Ramallah. Your predecessor, at least, was quite willing to negotiate and grant me my freedom."

Nakkash had a proud smirk on his face that outraged Cornett. He just wanted to reach into that large screen and strangle this vile, disgusting maniac. "That anger, that feeling of powerlessness, that eats you up, does it not? Now I hold hostage 1500 of your children, from some of Tel Aviv's most prominent families. I also have in my hands 40 American citizens, most of them less than 21 years ago. Kind of like the students who died at Virginia Tech."

"You sick piece of shit!" Ambassador Cornett cursed.

"I would have expected more diplomatic language from you, Mr. Ambassador," Nakkash retorted. "Think about these parents in America and Israel watching their sons and daughters slaughtered, their blood flowing through the hallways of this building while you could have prevented it. Their lives are in your hands."

"And what do you hope to achieve through this act of barbarism?" Defense Minister Doron asked.

"What we have always wanted, an end to the occupation of our sacred lands," Nakkash replied.

"You need to be more specific with your rhetoric, Nakkash," Weinstein said. "What exactly do you want in exchange for the hostages?"

"Let me make the rules clear to you first. My men are in complete control of the school and are expanding our perimeter. This building is wired with enough explosives to kill everyone inside in a matter of seconds. If any attempt is made to enter this building, if any of my men come under fire, we will destroy this school with everybody inside. If a single Israeli airstrike is conducted against Palestinian territory, we will destroy this building. Within the next three hours, you will begin withdrawing Israeli military forces from the Golan Heights. This withdrawal will be complete within 48 hours. My men in Syria and the Golan Heights will be reporting to me constantly. Additionally, you will cease all military overflights of Gaza and the West Bank and end your maritime blockade of Gaza. The Israeli Air Force and Navy has three hours to leave Palestinian airspace and territorial waters. Finally, within 6 hours, you will start withdrawing all IDF forces from your settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

"Mr. Bin Rahal, you know these demands are unreasonable. There are tens of thousands of Israeli civilians living in those settlements regardless of our policy disagreements. That matter is to be resolved through peace talks which you obviously are not interested in," Weinstein told him.

"Oh really?" said Nakkash. He said something in Arabic and a young high school freshman was dragged in front of the camera. "We are having peace talks right now." The men gathered in the conference room gasped and shuddered as Nakkash made the child kneel facing the camera, then placed a pistol to the back of his head and pulled the trigger. Cornett had to turn away at the last moment. He had a teenage son himself, about the same age as the boy who was just executed. Now there were more than a thousand innocent children in the school. This was the height of evil and depravity.

"Those are my terms," Nakkash concluded, "What you just witnessed will be repeated over and over again until our demands are met according to our timeline. As for your illegal settlers, they are free to stay in Palestine after your military pullback, but of course we cannot guarantee their safety."

"Mr. Bin Rahal," Ambassador Cornett spoke up, "It's my understanding you are holding 40 American citizens among your hostages. I assume you requested my presence in order to open a line of communication with the United States government."

"Actually, no, Mr. Cornett," Nakkash replied, "You are simply here to bear witness to the situation given your government's influence over the Zionist infidels. If Prime Minister Weinstein does not comply with my demands, it is not only Israeli lives at stake this time. I doubt President Ryan will be too delighted to see the bodies of young Americans dumped out of this building in front of the world." At that, Nakkash cut off the videoconference.

12:30 PM

"There's no way they can possibly expect to get any of those demands!" Prime Minister Weinstein exclaimed. Cornett remained silent for a few seconds, dreading how long this would be dragged out. Through that videoconference screen, he had just look straight into the eyes of pure evil. Nakkash chilled him to the bone. At least Cho Seung-Hui and Adam Lanza were mentally disturbed. Nakkash Bin Rahal was completely of sound mind. He had spent years planning this day, and no matter what happened, there will be boulevards and public streets named after him in Gaza and other cities across the Muslim world. Never had Cornett's faith in humanity reached such a desperate low.

"Do you think he's bluffing about the explosives on site?" Defense Minister Doron asked.

"Perhaps about the entire building being wired, but we must operate under the assumption at at least the areas where the hostages are being held are indeed wired. It's possible at least some of the terrorists are armed with suicide vests," Sokolow pointed out. "I will be speaking with General Wasser who is in charge of the Tel Aviv district."

"The first deadline involves the withdraw from the Golan Heights and opening the air and sea borders of the Gaza Strip," Weinstein pointed out then asked, "At the very least, for now, I am calling up the reserves for full combat readiness and put every Iron Dome battery on red alert. It's likely their friends in Gaza will start launching rockets when our retaliatory capabilities held hostage. General Sokoloff, I want you and Wasser and come up with any rescue scenarios."

"Yes, sir. We are also prepared to deploy more Iron Dome batteries into the Galilee in case Hezbollah decides to break the Lebanon cease-fire," Sokolow replied. " I need your orders on how to proceed in regards to our air and naval patrols of the Gaza Strip."

"We can't stand down for long," Doron pointed out, "I recommend temporarily holding our fire and upping our defenses but I advise against ending the Navy patrols of the Gazan waters or evacuating our forces from the Golan Heights and the West Bank. If we do that, we open this country to a risk of attack not seen since the 1973 war. Syria, Iran and Lebanon will be watching our every move."

"Of course none of us have any intention of giving Bin Rahal what he wants, but I think it would be prudent to buy some time while we examine our rescue options."

Goldstein nodded. "Get back to me as soon as possible."

1:17 PM - GIVITAYIM MILITARY BASE

Preliminary reports indicated 37 Israeli soldiers dead and more than 80 wounded in the Hamas attacks on the Givitayim bases and the surrounding neighborhood. _This is really happening, this is real_, Captain Christopher Henderson thought as he sat in General Wasser's office in the secure bunker underneath the base as fighter jets and drones swarmed the sky above the neighborhood making sure all the terrorists had truly been taken out. Henderson wondered why Jack hadn't checked in yet. Maybe with the cell phone towers overwhelmed with the multiple attacks across Tel Aviv he wasn't able to call back, and traffic was snarled across the region as many people rushed home. For all of Israel's doggedness against terrorism, this was already the deadliest day on the homefront in decades. More than 400 people were feared dead in the attacks and more were being pulled out of the rubble.

"General Henderson, I would like to express my gratitude to you and your men for your quick thinking and tactical response. As horrific as this morning's attacks have been, it could have been a lot worse."

"Looks like this new forces agreement paid off after all. Even under these circumstances, I would rather be here than Saudi Arabia. What kind of rescue scenarios are we looking at, General? I'm still waiting to hear from the Pentagon but given the presence of U.S. citizens among the hostages I believe it would be reasonable to have some American involvement in the planning and execution of the rescue operation."

"That's a decision for the Defense Ministry but I'm sure we will be open to that idea. What kind of forces do you have in theater?"

"Here, just my team at Givitayim," Henderson admitted, "That's all we can spare within the next 5 to 8 hours. However we have special ops forces based at Camp Patriot and Incirlik. We can also call upon the NATO and U.S. bases at Aviano and Ramstein in Europe if the need arises."

"I'm not sure my superiors in Jerusalem will let it drag on that long. Bin Rahal's first deadline is in three hours."

"it's going to take time just to get your men together and coordinate an assault. Do we have any idea at all what we're up against?"

"All we know is that Hamas has dozens and dozens of fighters inside the school and they've set up heavy machine gun positions and snipers on the rooftop and they're armed with anti-tank missiles and RPGs, possibly Stinger missiles as well."

"Any idea where the hostages are being held?" Henderson inquired.

"Nobody made it out of the building, none of the students were able to escape," Wasser replied. "Our people have been trying to hack into the security camera feeds but the security system has been turned down and they're blocking all known radio frequencies. They must have their own frequency to communicate amongst themselves."

The door to the private section of the bunker opened and a young female soldier walked in briskly.

"You have something for me, Sergeant?" Wasser asked in Hebrew.

"Yes, sir," she said, holding out her cell phone. "One of our soldiers made contact from inside the school, apparently she survived the onslaught and found cover. The radio frequencies were all jammed but this came on her friend's personal cell phone. She's Private Rachel Friedman of the internal security division, she's also with an American stationed here, a Private Jack Bauer."

Henderson looked up. "Jack Bauer! He's one of mine, I been trying to get in touch with him all morning. He did mention he was north of downtown Tel Aviv."

"Okay, put it on speaker, please," General Wasser told the soldier who quickly complied.

_* Trivia - The definition of "fearless" mentioned above actually comes from an interview with Taylor Swift around the release of her second album which is titled Fearless. That is also one of the hit singles from that album. Of course Taylor was actually referring to relationships but I think that is a good definition anyway. _


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

1:26 PM - VENTILATION SYSTEM / GIVITAYIM COMMAND BUNKER

Henderson hooked the Sprint cell phone up to a wall charger and placed it on the conference table. He let General Wasser speak first.

"This is General Adi Wasser, head of the Tel Aviv District."

Henderson spoke up. "Captain Christopher Henderson, U.S. Army. Hello there, Jack. Had no idea you're right in the hornet's nest."

"It was highly unexpected, sir," Jack responds simply, not knowing what else to say. He assumed with all that was going on the few that knew about his budding relationship with Rachel probably hadn't mentioned that to his commander yet.

"Private Friedman, would you please authenticate?"

"Yes, sir," she replied from the ventilation system with Jack. "Private Rachel Friedman, internal security division, Tel Aviv District, ID 2700030611."

Wasser pulled up her profile on the display screen in the room. Rachel's official military photo from a year ago came up with her in uniform plus her personal information and her deployment and duty record. He and Henderson both frowned as they saw Ben Gurion Airport listed there.

"Airport?" Henderson whispered.

"Yes, IDF takes care of all the security there. Her unit there is kind of like your Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol, and TSA mixed together. She works mostly at passport control and sometimes does luggage inspections. Most women get the easy duties like that, as you can imagine."

"No offense, but shit," Henderson whispered. He had noticed her age and held the rest of his comments to himself. _So that's half the assets we have inside, essentially a fucking CBP agent fresh out of high school doing her required military service. Yes, more training than the completely unarmed TSA, but a Customs officer with some firearms experience, not much though. Thank God Jack Bauer is there at least. Bauer better as hell remember all the shit I've taught him. See there's a reason I put him and all those other guys through hell. _

"I see this isn't your regular duty assignment," Wasser pointed out to Rachel, speaking louder this time. "But we're glad you're safe. So far all we know is that Hamas military commander Nakkash Bin Rahal is personally in charge of the terrorists at the school. He demanded that we refrain from military action against Palestinian targets plus the entire Hamas platform short of Israel self-destructing. They gave us a timeline to reopen Gaza's airspace and coastal waters and withdraw from the Golan Heights and the West Bank."

"Dammit, he can't possibly think we're going to give them that." A deep sense of dread crept into both her and Jack. This wasn't just to show Israel that Hamas could attack deep into the Israeli heartland or to demand the release of Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli jails. Or even just lifting the blockade of Gaza. They were going full out. There was no possible chance this could end peacefully.

"Okay, what's your situation, Private Friedman?" Wasser asked.

"I was giving the military service presentation to the students, sir, and we were in a special session with the American Birthright Israel group. We went into the hallway to take the emergency calls from our superiors following the Givitayim attack. That's when the terrorists stormed the building. We managed to take out I think 7 or 8 of them before we retreated into the ventilation system. We've managed to access one of the armories within the building and are reasonably well armed at the moment including with grenades and extra magazines for our Uzis and MP5s."

Henderson had an amused look for just a flashing moment. Seven or eight_ hostiles down. That's Jack Bauer, alright. Never seen him in real combat but I know talent when I see it. _

"Do the terrorists have any idea you're there?"

"Not that we know of, sir," Jack replied.

"What can you tell us about the situation inside the school?"

"All we know is they've cut off all radio communications outside and that there are at least 50 terrorists armed with assault rifles and machine guns, and grenades, most of it from the old Eastern Bloc. We don't know for sure where the hostages are, if they're in centralized locations or if they've been dispersed around the school. Sir, we can attempt to acquire more intel for you," Rachel told them.

"No, please hold your position," Wasser told her. "Both of you. At least thanks to you two we know the size of the force we're up against." He turned to Henderson and commented how he couldn't believe this many terrorists have managed to cross the border. "There's no way you two can single handedly take on all of them and if you're crawling around the building you risk exposing yourselves. They'll kill both of you on the spot. They already killed every single adult in the building. Please stand by, we'll keep you updated on the rescue operation."

"Sir, if I may, we have the element of surprise," Jack said, "Captain Henderson, we've managed to survive so far thanks to our training. You've trained me well for all scenarios, sir, and I trust Rachel…..excuse me, Private Friedman completely after seeing her in action." Jack indeed was surprised at Rachel's skills with the gun. Some people are just naturally good shots.

Henderson thought for a moment. "Bauer, are you thinking what I think you're thinking? You've never done this yourself, only witnessed it that time in Kuwait and frankly you were kinda queasy."

"I know what's at stake. I'm going to get you the information you need."

1:45 BACKSTAGE AREA

"How many men have we lost?" Nakkash demanded as Khattab came back from his patrol and updated him on the explosion and dead bodies in the hallway.

"Eight have been martyred, _emir,_" Khattab replied disappointedly.

"So there are more soldiers still in this building?"

"I don't think so," Khattab told them, "The entire bathroom was demolished and there were remains everywhere. Our men killed the _kafirs _before they were martyred."

Nakkash nodded, acting more relieved. "The infidels kill themselves only when they're cornered. We kill ourselves because we celebrate martyrdom. Make sure all the men's patrol patterns are set. We don't want any more surprises."

Khattab nodded respectfully. "Yes, emir."

2:02 PM – VENTILATION SYSTEM

Jack and Rachel looked through the schematics again and had the base forward them a more detailed map of the ventilation system inside the school. The entire building was connected though the ventilation system though some were obviously a lot narrower than others. Both their ears rang from the humming of the heating system and the wind itself exhausted them, but it was a hell of a lot better than scrambling out in the open. According to the digital map sent to Rachel's phone, the vent they were in curved around into the far side of the building and ended at a large mechanical room where the industrial scale air conditioning, heating, and plumbing systems were. Outside was a secluded enclave with several dumpster and more air conditioning units and natural gas fixtures. Rachel also received photos from a high-altitude drone as well as enhanced images from a CIA spy satellite the U.S. had diverted from its previously geosynchronus orbit above northern Iraq. It clearly showed the images of the terrorist positions on the room and on the exterior of the school property as well as the heavy military presence surrounding the schools. Tanks, armored personnel carriers and military Humvees packed the blocks surrounding the school and the residential areas nearby had been evacuated.

MECHANICAL ROOM

After observing the mechanical room from the vent for an extended period of time, Jack knew the patrol patterns. A team of four terrorists led by Farad would enter the mechanical room and bypass it to continue outside to check the perimeter again. Jack was certainly glad both their cell phones were fully charged.

"Once more of them go missing, Nakkash's going to suspect something and he may threaten to kill the hostages if we don't surrender. He can still contact us through the building's PA system," Rachel brought up her concern to Jack.

"I think I have a way around that," Jack told her. "We need to ambush this patrol and capture that one who seems to be more senior than the others, the one in the checkered headdress." Jack motioned for her to be quiet and take up her position at the other exit from the vent on the other side of the room as Farad and the other three terrorists entered the room, chatting in Arabic.

Suddenly, Jack jumped from the air vent, dropping ten feet and hitting Farad in the head, knocking the wind out of him. He immediately elbowed Farad in the throat and brought his pistol out, firing one silenced shot straight into the temple of another terrorist. Simultaneously, Rachel fired another silenced shot, hitting the second man in the back of the head. The last terrorist drew his weapon to kill Jack but Rachel shot him dead as well from her hiding position before she came out and joined back on the main floor of the maintenance room.

Jack nodded. "We ought to get into hunting in America. You'll make a great partner."

Rachel nodded with the smallest hint of a grin. "Can't wait for that."

"Watch the entrances, and check these bodies for IDs and see if they have heartbeat sensors or grenades. We need to get any IDs we find, even fake ones, to command. I need some answers, and this scumbag right here's going to give it to me."

Farad laughed over the sound of the mechanical whirling and spit in Jack's face. "Ah, so there are still two more hiding in the shadows, ah? I knew there was something up. I knew it! I could sense it!"

Rachel got in front of Farad. "Clearly you underestimated us. You're going to tell us where the hostages are and what kinds of explosives you have this building wired with," she demanded angrily.

"Or what, _sharmoota?_" Farad says haughtily with a nasty smirk on his face.

Jack punched Farad squarely in the face twice, sending a stream of blood out of his shattered nose and knocking out two of his teeth. He socked Farad in the groin, the Arab doubling over in pain and groaning. Rachel looked over in shock as she finished securing the bodies of the dead terrorists.

"Jack, are you sure about this?" Rachel asks with uncertainty. She occasionally got tough with suspicious passengers but it never involved anything physical. She was actually under explicit orders to never lay a hand on a passenger except in self defense, no matter how suspicious or hostile someone might be acting. That had always been common sense for her.

"I know what I'm doing. What you're trained in, what you did with me the first time you met me, that was questioning. This is an actual interrogation." Jack put his arms around Farad's neck and shot him in the left leg.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Farad screamed until Jack knocked him out.

"Get that headscarf, we need a gag, make sure he doesn't alert anyone. Go into that closet and find some cables to tie him up with." That was done just as Farad was waking up again. He jerked up but couldn't move through the cables.

"As you can see, this isn't turning out well for you," Jack told Farad. "Tell me where the hostages are." Farad seemed to ignore them. "I won't ask again. WHERE ARE THE HOSTAGES?" Jack screamed.

"Fuck you and your Jew bitch! I will say nothing! You will both die, I swear to Allah! No matter what you do to me, I will not betray my brothers!"

"Allah isn't going to make him stop this," Rachel said despite her own shock at what she was witnessing. "Allah doesn't even exist. You're the only one who can make it stop. Tell us where the hostages are." Inside, it was hard for her to control her queasiness but she forced herself to remember the big picture, the 1500 innocent children held hostage right in this building. She hoped Farad would break without Jack having to torture him further but knew that was a long shot. These are not normal circumstances, she told herself, but she sincerely hoped her verbal threats would convince him to break, even though she knew it was unlikely.

"You are wasting your time with me. When I don't check in in the next few minutes, they will come looking for me. Nakkash will kill hostages if you won't surrender yourself for your execution," Farad said smugly.

"This isn't working," Jack said to himself. He thought for a moment. "I'm going to have to enhance this interrogation."

DUMPSTER AREA

Jack grabbed Farad and dragged him toward the door that opened to the outside AC/heating system which was in a fenced in area out of visibility for most of the terrorist patrols on the roof. "Jack, how far are you going to go with this?" Rachel asked. Her mind raced. She didn't want to imagine what she was about to witness. Yes, if they got out of this alive their superiors would understand, but still she had never been as troubled before in her life at what was going on.

"As far as I have to," Jack replies, the certainty increasing in his voice.

"Thanks for reminding me of my time constraints, you bastard pig," Jack snarled at Farad, ignoring Rachel's question.

"I don't know Jack," Rachel said to him as he dumped Farad next to a large AC fan unit spinning. "Even Mossad takes hours or days to break someone, especially a trained terrorist like him."

"We don't have fucking hours or days!" Jack shouted, surprised as his own impatience. Rachel blinked and stepped back. She had never seen Jack this outraged before. "This is not your airport thing where the worst thing you can do is put someone in holding or not let them into the country. There are over a thousand innocent children in this building and unless this piece of shit gives me some answers, many of them will not survive today."

"Jack, I know what's at stake but….."

"We don't have another choice, Rachel," he said, softer this time. He immediately regretted snapping at her but apologies would have to wait. "You don't have to look. You…you can turn around." Jack had never felt as pained before in his life as he saw Rachel take a few steps back. He didn't want her to be anywhere close but there was no other way. He needed this information. Without it the hostages lives, and their own lives, would be over soon.

"What, this good cop bad cop bullshit? I know what this is!" Farad spat.

"I can be more bad than you can ever imagine. This is your final chance," Jack told him.

Farad simply smiled again through his broken face. "You think I'm afraid of you, American?"

"Damn you for making me do this!" Jack shouted in a mix of rage and torment.

Without warning Jack grabbed Farad's right hand and jammed it into the exterior fan unit. The rotating blades sliced off three of his fingers and part of a fourth. Blood sprayed outward in a red fountain. Jack retracted Farad's hand from the fan, the mangled flesh dangling from bone.

"Ahhhhh! Allah!" Farad screamed in pain.

Jack grabbed his hand again and brought it toward the fan once more.

"No! I…I tell you, American, I tell you!" Farad says through the intense pain.

"You better not bullshit me!" Jack said. "Where are the hostages being held?"

Farad had trouble speaking through the pain. Jack looked at Rachel, who averted her eyes and looked like she was about to vomit. He was sorry she had to be here, to witness this. He knew that even if they got out of this, even if she understood how necessary this was, she would probably never see him the same way again. He would never see himself the same way again. He knew that as much as they both might want to, they would never forget what was happening. Even if she didn't feel repulsed by Jack, this is a scene Rachel would have to live with for the rest of her life. And it was all because of this pathetic bastard right here.

"They are split into three groups," Farad said, "The freshmen and sophomores are in the gym. They are in the bleachers on both sides of the gym, and some are seated on the gym floor. The juniors and seniors are…..fuck you American! Allah will give me strength! I beseech thee, Allah….."

Jack took Farad's other hand and forced it into the AC fan. This time all five fingers were mangled and Jack held it inside firmly. "No more bullshit?"

"OKAY! I SWEAR! Please!" Farad cried, tears of pain and rage falling from his face. Jack removed it.

"Oh Allah! Ahhhhh!" Farad was screaming and crying out of control now. Jack had no sympathy for him, this wild animal who was ready to murder more than a thousand innocent children, who cooperated with people who murdered hundreds of civilians earlier that day. "The upper classmen are in the auditorium, in the center section. The Americans were in the auditorium but they are being moved to the band room. There are explosives under the gym bleachers and wired around the auditorium and around the stage! I don't know about where the Americans are being held, if there are explosives there."

"What kind of explosives are there? Where else in the building did you sick bastards place the charges? "

"I…..please….I'm not sure but some of the men guarding the hostages have suicide vests. They should be from the same design." Farad looked at his mangled hands and wailed. "Nakkash the leader, he splits his time between the different places and I think the office. The entire building is not wired, most of the explosives are where the hostages are. I don't know the rest, I don't know exactly how many bombs Nakkash has made, I was recruited recently, I only arrived in Israel weeks ago. Please that is everything I know. Please!"

Jack nodded. "I believe you. I told you I would stop once you told me what you knew. I'm going to keep my word." He added. "I'm also going to do you a favor. I'm going to make your pain go away." Before Farad could protest, Jack raised his pistol and sent a bullet flying into his brain.

2:45 PM – MECHANICAL ROOM

Jack and Rachel dumped the bodies of the dead terrorists into the dumpster, covering them with more garbage. They made their way back to the mechanical room then heard more shouting in Arabic.

"Farad? Are you here? Farad? You outside? "

Jack nudged Rachel gently as he peeked through a crack in the half open door. "Three more of them. We'll come from both directions then fan out across the room then retreat."

Rachel nodded. She and Jack both went into the doorway, firing silenced shots from their pistols, taking down two of the men immediately. The third man got two shots off as Jack dove along the floor. He got upright and drew his gun, shooting the man twice in the chest. They added those bodies to the dumpster and went back into the ventilation system.

3:08 PM – COMMAND BUNKER, TEL AVIV

Henderson and Wasser were definitely glad that Jack was able to break the terrorist. At least now they knew the statement about the entire building being wired was a bluff. The bad news was, there were still enough explosives to kill all the hostages and the terrorist did not know the make or model of those devices. CIA and local experts had been trying to hack into the school's security feeds but with no luck thus far. None of the terrorists Jack and Rachel had killed so far had IDs but all came back either on Israeli or CIA watch lists or prison records. Most had a history of violence. Their assets in the school had requested this information be forwarded to them. Henderson wanted why, but he had to trust their judgment. After all they were the ones on site, at least until a rescue squad arrived on site in the next hour or so. Time was already running out, and the first deadline was approaching. So far Jerusalem had not ordered any kind of pullback from either the Golan Heights or the Palestinian territories.

Henderson dialed Rachel's cell phone again. "Okay, we have what you requested. What exactly were you looking for?"

"Sir," Jack replied, "The terrorist I interrogated said he had only been recruited recently. He was the fourth picture we sent you. The others?"

"The other three had all spent time in Israeli prisons. All part of Gaza's traditional terrorist network."

"Okay, what can you tell me about the fourth man?"

"Farad Zubayda, born in Beirut, Lebanon to Palestinian parents. He previously served with Hezbollah until we defeated them in Lebanon," General Wasser told them. "Apparently he went to Gaza to continue the jihad, bringing his experience with him."

"What mosque did he attend in Lebanon? Was it a Hezbollah mosque?"

Wasser looked more closely at the file. "Yes, the Imam Khomeini mosque in South Beirut. That's an Iranian-built mosque in a Shiite part of town."

"And you are saying he was a recent addition? Are you sure?" Jack asked again.

"Yes. Nakkash had to recruit from other Palestinian movements to put together his team. In addition more non-Hamas volunteers have come to join since his coup against Muhammad Ajaz. Ajaz was a strict Sunni, while Nakkash Bin Rahal believes in a more pan-Islamic movement, at least until the Jews and Christians are defeated."

"Ok good. Keep us updated about the rescue operation."

"Of course, Bauer," Henderson replied.

3:30 PM – BAND ROOM

Erika Rogers trembled in fear even this long after the initial terrorist takeover of the building. This was not supposed to be happening, she thought to herself. David took her hand, gently squeezing it. She couldn't believe how something as little as that made her feel a little better. Two or three terrorists, none of them with much knowledge of English beyond the basic threats and commands constantly patrolled the room and the hallway outside. Erika wanted to pray, but didn't even know what God to pray to. Her newly discovered father, the reason she was here was Jewish but she knew nothing of the religion really. Her mother had taken her to a Catholic church as a child and she was baptized as an infant, but she never truly felt like she belonged in the Catholic church either. She just hoped that whatever God was up there would protect her on this day.

She just wanted to be back with her mom in their backyard in Pataskala, Ohio cooking barbecue chicken on the grill. Looking at the band instruments around the world she forced her mind to take her to the sidelines of Mountaineer Field where she cheered while the marching band did their formation stuff at halftime. Erika remembered the Mountain State Brewing Company, the microbrewery where she bartended over the summers and on a weekend here or there, all the regulars that had become like extended family to her. She hoped against hope that she would see all that again. Erika always knew there was evil in the world, but evil was always something in the news. This was right here and now. She was somewhat familiar with the on and off conflict in this region from watching Fox News back home, but she could not understand how anyone even remotely rational would be acting in this way. She told herself that if she ever made it home to America alive, she might not ever leave the country again.

Bilal walked into the room with that crazed, menacing look on his face. "The Israeli government has missed the first deadline," Bilal said in accented English, turning on the overhead display and connecting a computer to it. "We are about to give them a demonstration of how serious we are. It is only fitting that you get a taste of it too."

COMMUNICATIONS AREA

Nakkash stormed back into the auditorium with three armed terrorists accompanying him. He didn't expect the Israeli government to give in to his demands, at least not by the first deadline. The enemy always negotiated, Nakkash knew. The difference is the amount of killing that took for them to reach that point. Nakkash walked down one of the main aisles of the auditorium with a menacing swagger waving his gun around. He would pick out one male and one female student from each grade. He would leave the Americans for now, until the next deadline. He went into the senior section first. This was the group he had the least sympathy for. In a year they would be serving in the army, occupying and killing Palestinians. He pointed the barrel of his AK-47 at a slightly overweight girl sitting toward the middle of the row.

"You, _sharmoota!"_ Nakkash said. "Come here!"

The girl began crying and her friend, a male student, stood up. "Please, don't take..."

Without warning, Nakkash tilted the AK-47 to the right and fired a round into his face followed by one to his chest. His body tumbled backward into the crowd of students. He would leave the corpse among them to remind them the consequences of challenging his authority in any way, including speaking out of turn. Nakkash relished the power he held in his hands. _Your drones and fighter jets and Mossad hit teams have hunted me my entire life. Now I am the hunter. Allah tells me who should be next, and I carry out His will. _The girl he had wanted moved forward. She seemed to accept her face and walked over quietly, looking down at the ground. Nobody else resisted as he accumulated eight hostages and the other terrorists marched them into the back where the video footage was also set up now.

3:45 PM DEFENSE MINISTRY, JERUSALEM / BACKSTAGE AREA, HIGH SCHOOL

Defense Minister Doron got everyone's attention as the videoconference clicked on again. The Cisco screen changed into an image of Nakkash Bin Rahal standing with his assault rifle. The Hamas banner emblazoned with Koranic verses and two assault rifles was hanging behind him.

"The first deadline has passed," Nakkash said simply.

"Mr. Bin Rahal, we're working as fast as we can. As you can see we have held back from retaliation for your attack and have conducted no missions in the Gaza Strip. Military withdrawal needs time, the orders need to come from command..." Prime Minister Weinstein began.

"This is negotiation, Mr. Prime Minister. You think I will give you something for nothing? Huh?"

"Sir, please, I assure you we are expediting the process to the greatest extent possible," Weinstein said. Ambassador Cornett wanted to chime in but held his tongue. He had already let his emotions get the better of him and that was a terrible mistake as a diplomat. He was only glad there were no Americans being threatened in this round. General Wasser and Captain Henderson were already assembling a team and coming up with insertion plans at the school with the help of Jack and Rachel's intel but they needed some time.

"You have another hour to reopen Gaza's airspace and territorial waters, and to begin your withdrawal from the Golan Heights and West Bank. In exchange for this extra hour, I will take these eight individuals."

The camera panned to the right, following Nakkash and the eight hostages came into view. Some were crying while some seemed to accept their fate with stoic expressions on their faces. Nakkash pointed his AK-47 into the chest of the first hostage and fired a long burst. He did the same with the second and third. Then he picked up the pace and mowed down the rest of the hostages in a row. With that, Nakkash spoke into the camera again. "Your next hour begins now. I suggest you spend your time wisely or this will be repeated."

Nakkash went over to Khattab, who was holding the camcorder. He reviewed the video.

Nakkash smiled. "You captured this perfectly. Next best thing to a live feed."

"Thank you, emir," Khattab replied, also smiling. He spat twice on the bodies of the executed hostages.

"Make sure this video is sent to Al-Jazeera as well as the Western networks. We shall see how much longer our friends in Jerusalem and Washington hold out."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: I've decided to do away with the specific times within the day, but just keep in mind everything from Chapter 4 onwards is in one 24 hour day which will end at 10 AM the next morning with an epilogue that takes place afterward. I'm in class again so I'll be updating my stories once a week, alternating stories. Season 10: God's Country will be updated sometime next week :) _

DAY ZERO CHAPTER 8

HERZLIYA NEIGHBORHOOD, TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter landed on a front lawn several blocks away from Ariel Sharon High School. The drones and fighter jets flying over Tel Aviv masked the sound of the helicopter's rotors as they twirled to a stop. Captain Henderson and General Wasser disembarked first followed by an assault team consisting mostly of IDF special forces along with a few U.S. Army soldiers, including Darius Greene and Lance Sizemore. By now, Prime Minister Weinstein had ordered the immediate area closed to news crews and declared the airspace over the Tel Aviv area closed to all civilian air traffic including news choppers for security reasons.

The winter sun was already descending in the western sky as the team gathered at a makeshift command post located four blocks away from the school. Wasser projected the schematics of the school and the surrounding sewer system onto a screen as he briefed the rescue team which was divided into four squads plus the snipers deployed on perimeter at various locations near the school structures.

"According to our latest intel, the hostages are held in three places. Half the student body is in the auditorium and the other half is in the gym, while the Americans are being held in the band room. The gym and auditorium are wired with explosives but not the rest of the building. All teams will insert via the sewer system that connects this neighborhood with the school grounds," Wasser briefed them, "Alpha and Bravo teams will emerge through the pond at the center of the courtyard. Charlie will blast through the first floor bathrooms in the north wing, where we believe resistance is light, and make your way toward the central portion of the school. Delta team," he continues, looking toward the Americans, "Will enter the school property through a manhole in between the soccer field and the outside doors in between the auditorium and the band room. Delta will secure the American hostages and then proceed to join Alpha team in storming the auditorium. Bravo and Charlie will take the gymnasium. The priority is taking out the terrorists with the explosive vests and the ones triggering the charges."

Henderson nodded for Wasser to continue. "This operation requires perfect coordination. We must attack all of these locations simultaneously and overwhelm the enemy. When the order is given, the sniper teams will take out the terrorists in the room the moment the insertion teams breach the school. We believe resistance is light around the courtyard and that Alpha and Bravo teams will be able to go from the pond to the surrounding corridors quickly."

VENTILATION SYSTEM

Jack's phone buzzed and he saw that it was Henderson. "Yes, sir?"

"How are you two holding up?" Henderson asked.

"Still safe, sir. Not bad given the circumstances. We're about to engage..."

"Hold off on that," Henderson said quickly, "Myself along with the IDF are commencing a rescue operation as we speak. Our teams will be inserted underground via the public sewer system. The plan is a quick blitz of the locations where the hostages are being held, which we have thanks to you."

"I appreciate the compliment, sir," Jack replied.

"I must also thank Private Friedman too," Wasser chimed in quickly. "Israel owes you for your service. You will receive a decoration for your actions today."

"Thank you, sir," she replied, "But honestly Jack deserves most of the credit. He's the reason we're still alive." As troubled as she was by what she had just witnessed, that was her honest assessment.

"What's your current position?" Henderson inquired.

"Ventilation system between the first and second floors, off, um, Room 124," answered Jack.

"That places you close to Delta team's position, that's our team, Bauer. We'll be in radio contact on approach if you can meet up with us."

"Copy that, Captain," Jack replied. "We can engage the hostiles elsewhere in the building, draw them away from the courtyard when the teams are entering through the pond."

"Negative, we don't want Bin Rahal getting any hint of resistance. If they think you were both killed, let's keep it that way. We should be inserted by the time they discover the bodies of Farad Zubaydah and his patrol, if they discover them at all."

"I understand, sir." The line clicks dead.

Jack turned to Rachel. "What happened back there...I'm sorry you had to be there for it. I wish there was another way. Right now I want to throw up as much as you probably do."

Rachel just looked at him for a few moments, though her face now looked more dazed than disgusted. "It's just so much to take in," she said, "Plus everything else that's happened today. I honestly don't know if what you did back there was right or wrong, but I really didn't think you'd go that far."

"Rachel, the last thing I want is for you to think I'm some kind of monster. We both tried everything we could to make him talk in the little time that we had. I don't want to come across as making excuses but we got the information we needed out of him and our superiors are acting upon that now. Deep down I know I still won't be able to forgive myself for what I did, but I hope you can forgive me. Or that at least you understand. Please tell me that."

"Jack, I really don't know what to think right now," she replied. "There probably wasn't an alternative but just seeing what you're capable of, Jack, I just didn't expect that. I don't think I've fully processed everything yet. I….." she hesitated, "I think we should focus on right now, on finishing the mission and getting out of here. We can deal with everything when this is all over."

That obviously was not the response Jack was looking for but at least she had said "we". There was still some hope that they could pick up where they had left off after they both dealt with the trauma of what they experienced. Or maybe she was just saying that so he wouldn't be discouraged, and remain at the top of his game. But, Jack forced himself to have that glimmer of hope. Jack's feelings for her burned deeply, in a way that shocked even himself.

Within the past four hours, Jack had not only killed people for the first time, but even gruesomely tortured one of them before practically executing him. He had to tell himself it was justified, that it was him or them, the hostages or these terrorists. Yes these were bad people, and he was justified in killing them and there was probably no other way to extract that information from Farad, but Jack was still shocked at what he had done. Rachel was also still struggling with the realization that she too had killed several men within the past couple hours. All of them had been shooting at them, and it was her survival mechanism taking over, but she still didn't completely feel at ease about it.

Police officers who took a life in the line of duty are often given counseling and placed on leave for a while but there's no time for Jack to come to grips with what he had done. The crisis was ongoing and there would most likely be more killing involved. Part of him wished desperately that Rachel was given the same training that Henderson had given him, about adapting to the situation, and doing whatever it takes. He had watched Henderson and Army investigators torture a suspected terrorist who had been planning attacks on American-owned petroleum infrastructure in Kuwait. That most likely prevented Islamic State from turning Kuwait's largest oil and gas export facility into an inferno, but Jack had still thrown up after watching the waterboarding session. Henderson infused in his squad the mentality that they were always at war, that the world was crawling with enemies and that the rules could be bent sometimes.

The other side of him loved Rachel precisely because she didn't come from that kind of background. Despite having compulsory military service, her world was still quite different from his. Jack felt guilty for lecturing her earlier about questioning vs. interrogation. Her innocence and optimism was a refreshing alternative to his own world-weariness and his unexplained anger at the world around him. He would hate for her to change. Jack didn't want to come across as unstable or dangerous like those people who tortured dogs and cats for fun as a kid. He also should have been more understanding and more patient with her earlier. He remember how he did also snap at her and insult her when they first met, and it was a testament to Rachel's personality that she took it in stride and laughed it off after the truth about the planted devices in his suitcase was revealed. Maybe she was attracted to his wild side, but he didn't want to push his luck with her especially now that things were really getting off the ground between them. Jack knew he had to fight to keep her, though he would first have to fight to get the hell out of this building alive.

DEFENSE MINISTRY / ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

IDF Chief of Staff Timur Sokolow ordered his secretary to hold all his calls and strode back into his spacious office, closing the door behind him. He punched in a secret code to a safe on the wall and took out a secure satellite phone that only he had access to, one of the special privileges awarded him because of his position in the Israeli government. Everything had gone according to plan so far. The Prime Minister's reluctance to negotiate with Hamas at first was of course expected but that would soon change. And now General Wasser had finally revealed the plans for the rescue operation. Sokolow dialed a secure number on the satellite phone.

Nakkash's cell phone rang and he saw a restricted number but he knew it had to be Sokolow. Hamas operatives usually used disposable cell phones with limited minutes, not this kind of high-tech stuff that was not readily available in the Palestinian territories.

"We have been waiting to hear from you. I was getting concerned," Nakkash said in Arabic.

"Honestly didn't have a free moment until now. You can imagine the crisis mode all this has placed us in," Sokolow said with a sarcastic chuckle. "At least I have the secure phones now so we do not have to talk in those ridiculous codes anymore. You've done great today, inshallah."

"Allah smiles upon us, mujahid," Nakkash replied with pride and satisfaction. "So you have something for me?"

"Yes, there will be a rescue attempt happening within the next half hour."

"Already?" Nakkash demanded then began shouting angrily in Arabic, pacing around the room. "They really don't even care about their own children, do they? They think I am a coward, that I give orders from behind and send others to die. That is what the Western media says. I will show them! I should have already shown them by coming here myself. Everything I've threatened, I will carry it out myself! I will trigger the explosives and kill everyone here in addition to the soldiers they are sending in here!"

"I know, exalted Emir," Sokolow said evenly, "But I urge you to remember what we've discussed, what you yourself proposed. We cannot achieve our endgame if you destroy the school now. Our goals are still within reach, brother. After you wipe out the assault team, kill some more hostages. Your second deadline will have approached anyway. Do it more brutally, less clean. I will use whatever influence I have to push for concessions. Remember what we discussed. They only need to make slight concessions in order for us to carry out the true plan."

Nakkash breathed in and out deeply trying his best to calm down from his burning rage at the Israelis' failure to meet his initial demands. Sokolow was right, Nakkash had to admit. This day was about much more than just those demands. They might very well get a complete Israeli evacuation of the Palestinian territories but that was not the endgame. No, that wasn't entirely accurate. Once their entire plan was carried, Palestinian statehood would be all but guaranteed as an added benefit to their real victory.

"I assume you've obtained the operational details from the men on the ground, Abdul?" Abdul Hamid was the name adopted by Timur Sokolow upon his conversion to Islam. It was of course known only to Nakkash, his most senior operatives, and Imam Ravid.

Sokolow reviewed the details of the insertion plan that Henderson and Wasser had come up with.

"It's just as we had expected," Nakkash said. "We will be ready for them."

BACKSTAGE AREA

Nakkash and Khattab walked behind the stage and out to a corridor near the gym. Bilal walked over, meeting them on the edge of the brightly lit indoor basketball court. The bleachers on both sides were packed with hostages and six armed terrorists with suicide vests and Russian assault rifles guarded the students.

"Still no sign of Farad or anyone on his team. My men checked everywhere. We did not notice anything unusual in our patrol, all is quiet. All the hostages are accounted for," Bilal said in Arabic. "I wonder if the Israelis have already managed to insert someone here."

"I doubt that. Not with our defenses," Nakkash replied. "However they are indeed coming now."

"Give the order, and I will join my father in paradise," Bilal said. "I have dreamed of this moment since before I could walk."

"That time may soon come, but not yet, Bilal," Nakkash replied. "We will show them our power, and they will have no choice to give in to our demands. Make sure your men are ready."

SEWER SYSTEM

Perhaps because they were in the sun-scorched Middle Eastern desert, the sewer lines in Tel Aviv were not as dank as the New York sewers and subway tunnels so often depicted by Hollywood, Captain Henderson though as they made their way down from a manhole set on a cordoned off suburban lane lined with Mediterranean-style villas. Only a trickle of water ran along the bottom of the large storm drain.

"ETA seven minutes to the courtyard. We're almost below the school property," Henderson said.

"Roger," Darius Greene replied. "Sir, I still can't believe they were able to mount such an attack. I wonder where, or who, they got their intel from."

"That's something we'll have to sort out after we take out Bin Rahal and his followers," Henderson said simply. He also knew something was fishy about everything that's happened but right now his orders were to infiltrate the school. He was comfortable with the people who had knowledge of his operation. Whoever the terrorist source was, their days were numbered, Henderson thought.

Henderson checked his PDA which showed the positions of the other assault teams. He radioed Jack.

"Bauer, we're in the storm drains leading into the school," Henderson radioed. "The map shows we're directly under the South Wing but we'll be emerging through an exterior manhole just outside the auditorium, near the soccer field. We'll be assaulting the auditorium then heading to the band room to rescue the U.S. citizens."

"Yes, sir, understood. Can't wait to get out of here, sir."

"We will give you the go-ahead to engage once the teams are inside the building. We're going to blitz these bastards from all directions, that's when we could use some help from you lovebirds."

"Sorry, sir" Jack replied in shock.

"C'mon, Bauer. You didn't even have to refer to her by her first name earlier, or somehow end up together on the far side of the city with an IDF girl who never trained with us. The day she dropped you off on base I had some of our people find out who she was. Intelligence gathering and surveillance practice is ongoing, Jack. Always find out everything about the terrain."

Jack didn't know what to think. So Henderson did play more of his games and he knew it was more to train the other guys than any actual fear of Rachel being some kind of mole or threat.

ARIEL SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

"Alpha and Bravo teams are under the courtyard now," Henderson radioed Jack. "Are you and Private Friedman ready to engage on my call?"

"Yes, sir," Jack replied, making sure both his and Rachel's weapons were fully armed and ready to fire. They had used up some of their ammo taking down Farad and the two waves of terrorists in the mechanical room as well as during the initial firefight before they were able to access the ventilation system. Jack made a mental note to stock up at one of the armories in the building if the terrorists hadn't completely raided both of all the weapons. Alpha and Bravo teams at this time had reached a wide part of the drainage system beneath the courtyard, where there was a small pond set amid a garden and some trees.

Unknown to them, more than a dozen terrorists had surrounded the courtyard, pointing assault weapons and rocket launchers into the pond, waiting for the IDF special forces team to emerge from there. The plan had been to drain the pond then emerge, while the majority of the terrorists were scattered around the school. None of them knew their chief of staff, Timur Sokolow, was the highest Islamist mole in Israel.

The terrorist Bilal glanced around the auditorium then went into the corridor leading backstage while Malik left six terrorists to guard the hostages, then headed toward the courtyard, joining the other Hamas fighters waiting for the Israeli soldiers to emerge from the pond.

"Just the scenario we had envisioned," Nakkash said, smiling as he embraced Bilal. "We will fight them off, but in the slight chance they overrun us, have the men ready to martyr themselves and turn this place into a permanent graveyard."

Captain Henderson silently led the team to a metal ladder leading up to a storm grate at the edge of the soccer field where it met the auditorium. The area was also cluttered with sheds containing athletic equipment and was near an entrance to the locker rooms and the swimming pool area. Henderson checked with the Alpha team leader, who confirmed that his men were operating the blowtorch, cutting open the water control system beneath the artificial pond that led to the storm drains and sewers below. Henderson took out a screwdriver and began unscreweing the grate from the outside. Lance Sizemore took an observation device, sticking it through the grate and saw no hostiles on the roof overlooking them at the moment.

FIRST FLOOR BATHROOM

Khattab smiled as he set the explosive charges inside the boys' bathroom, placing three charges in each stall. This should give them a good surprise, he thought. Back at the Defense Ministry, Timur Solokow had just finished reviewing the assault plans, after having convinced General Wasser that he might offer some improvements or insights given his own experience in the special forces. He saw the update and cursed to himself.

Nakkash picked up his phone as he saw Sokolow's new call come in.

"I just saw the final assault plan, the teams are in place as we speak but we have the American assault team going someplace close to the gym, outside."

"What? I thought….."

"We had not expected them to take part by Captain Henderson, the commander of rapid response team at Givitayim, convinced my superiors of how valuable they are."

"We don't have the traps set in that area!" Nakkash screamed. "My men are mostly around the courtyard ready to fight off the incursion there."

"You will fight them off," Timur said, "Allah protects his warriors. The Americans will be operating alone after you get the other teams. I am confident you and your team will succeed."

SHARON HIGH SCHOOL

The Alpha team leader finished removing the filtration system beneath the pond while Bravo team also looked on. At this time, Charlie team was ready to blast its way into the bathroom on the first floor. "All teams, go!" he ordered.

As the filtration system was removed, liquid did pour back as expected, but it was not water. Suddenly, all the men felt nauseous and terror as the liquid filled with corrosive chemicals poured onto them, eating away at their clothes and skin.

The team leader and several of his men screamed in pain as the chemicals ate their skin down to the bone. Then a barrage of automatic weapons fire and rockets met the survivors as they charged up into the courtyard to avoid the chemicals pouring down into the drains. Malik fired a bazooka that detonated right next to the pond, collapsing part of the ground, causing half the garden to collapse into the sewer system, exposing the other soldiers below.

"Allah akbar!" Malik screamed as he fired two more rockets straight into the newly exposed positions. One rocket hit the center of Bravo Team, killing four men instantly. The lone survivor from Alpha fired up, killing a terrorist shooting his AK-47 from the second floor, but then he was shot with no less than seven rounds of automatic gunfire that covered almost every inch of the courtyard. Several IDF soldiers from Bravo had also survived the initial barrage but they were no match for the merciless gunfire coming down on their from elevated positions on all four sides. The terrorists shot all the fallen soldiers several times to make sure they were dead, laughing in glee as they chanted Islamic slogans.

The blasting charge beneath the bathroom detonated the entire batch of explosives set in the area and Charlie Team was vaporized instantly.

Lance saw a terrorist on the roof and squeezed the trigger on his sniper rifle, sending the body tumbling down from the roof. By this time, Bilal was climbing back to the roof to check on the men there.

SECOND FLOOR

"Go! We're engaging the enemy now," Henderson radioed Jack.

Jack nudged Rachel silently and nodded. She unstrapped her Uzi from her shoulder and the two exited the vent in a janitor's closet. Jack checked the heartbeat sensors and saw three hostiles approaching the hallway from the same direction. He opened the door from the inside and emerged from the hallway followed by Rachel.

A terrorist gasped in Arabic as both Rachel and Jack opened fire on them. All three Arabs collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Shit!" Henderson shouted as he realized what was going on after his team had already emerged from the sewers. "It's an ambush! They knew ALL of our ingress routes. The other teams are down! Repeat the other teams are down! The terrorists will be converging on this area soon."

"We're making our way to you now. We should be able to access that area through the second floor window," Rachel said, looking at her PDA and interpreting the Hebrew language schematics for them. The part of the building housing the locker rooms and swimming pool was a lower structure that almost connected with the second floor of the main building. Inside, terrorists were swarming toward the area where the Americans had inserted.

SCHOOL EXTERIOR/LOCKER ROOM AREA

"What is this" Bilal demanded in shock. "What is happening?"

Several terrorists were rushing over from the roof. "The Americans came from out here. We lost a man." They fired down at the grate Delta team had used to access the school grounds.

"Find them! Kill them all!" Bilal screamed then radioed Nakkash. "The Americans are here! They are somewhere in the building."

"What is your position?" Nakkash demanded immediately.

"Approaching the roof, they came through the sewer below us, by the athletic shacks."

"Find them! We will send men there at once!" Nakkash radioed several of the terrorists. "Take them out! Yallah! Yallah!" he yelled in Arabic motioning with his hands frantically.

SECOND FLOOR/LOCKER ROOM AREA

"Take cover!" Henderson said, grabbing Darius as the young sergeant fired a burst of gunfire at several approaching terrorists as they retreated into the doorway. Lance squeezed off two more shots, killing another man that had approached on the roof. Suddenly there is a sickening clang as a grenade fell in the narrow area between two exterior walls.

A soldier leapt onto the grenade, sacrificing himself as the explosion ripped apart his body. Henderson gasped and cringed but maintained control as the remaining Americans burst through some double doors into a hallway next to the locker room entrance. They were met by a furious barrage of gunfire. Another American soldier fell after taking several rounds in the chest. Henderson and Lance fired down the hall as they retreated toward the locker room. "Shit, the explosion destroyed my PDA," Henderson radioed. "We're in the locker room area." A Palestinian was shot several times in the chest and fell backward screaming.

"We'll draw some fire away," Jack replied.

"Looks like we're going to hunker down together," Henderson said. He, Lance, Darius and three other Americans were left unhurt. They dragged the wounded man into the locker room.

"The locker room opens into the indoor pool deck," Rachel informed them. She played around with her PDA a little and expanded the schematics. "There's another egress through the pool mechanical room, the maintenance area. The other option, shit, the other option is through the pool itself. The drainage system at the bottom."

"That may be our only bet," Henderson replied. "Radio General Wasser, have him send a team to access the bottom of the pool. We're going to have to blast a larger hole to reach the drains, hopefully that's not also booby trapped."

"I don't think it's bobby trapped," Jack replied, "Nobody would have thought of going in or out through an 8 foot deep pool when the pond was more obvious, and easier if it wasn't compromised." Jack's tone was dark as the existence of a mole or at least a leak entered his mind again.

LOCKER ROOMS

Rachel pulled Jack into a history classroom as they saw two more terrorists rushing toward them. "Shit, we don't have time for this," Jack said. "There will be more on their way soon."

"We're near the courtyard area," Rachel told him. "I'll draw some of them away with the grenade. From here we have to dash down the hall, rooms 210 through 220 face the pool structure. We can hop from this ledge and access that point."

Henderson held out a heartbeat sensor and saw several terrorists in the women's locker room on the other side.

"Sir, I'll take them out, keep them confused," Lance said.

"I can go with them, sir. I think we should split our forces, increase our chances of survival given the situation," offered Darius. "Of course it's your call, Captain."

"Go do it!" Henderson said with a nod. "Pitts, how you doing?" he asked turning to the wounded man. Pitts didn't reply and seemed to be going into shock. "Apply pressure!" he calmly ordered one of the other team members. This was far from the first time Henderson had been in battle and his steely confidence helped motivate the Americans here with him.

Lance and Darius went into the girls locker room through a side entrance. Darius motioned for Lance to be quiet as they saw two terrorists in Arab kaffiyehs and dishdashas come in. The soldiers each took out their combat knives, preferring to be quiet and keep the terrorists in the area guessing. They saw the reflection of a terrorist in the mirror and ducked behind two open lockers so that when the terrorists also looked at the mirror, they saw nothing.

Darius came silently and slit the first terrorist's throat as hard as he could then disappeared back behind the locker. The second terrorist took several long seconds before noticing his partner was no longer next to him. At the same time he was distracted by his handheld radio as Nakkash's voice came on.

"All clear….." he began then turned around, seeing his partner's corpse on the floor. Before he could speak again, Lance hurled his knife, lodging it right in the terrorist's neck. He gasped and collapsed onto the tiled floor. The gurgling sound in his throat disappeared as the life drained out of his body.

SECOND FLOOR CLASSROOMS

Jack and Rachel cowered underneath one of the teachers desks in the history classroom as two Muslim terrorists came in, one of them tossing a grenade. There was a thundering explosion as pieces of the ceiling came tumbling down onto the desks, knocking several desks over but the desk protected them.

"Allah akbar! Death to the infidels!" the terrorists screamed as they charged through the door one after another, unleashing a seemingly endless stream of gunfire. The globe on the desk was blasted apart into several pieces then the windows all shattered, raining pieces of broken glass onto the floor. Jack then used all his strength and lifted up the desk, firing several shots. Two more terrorists came in. Jack shot a terrorist coming through the door with a bullet that also hit his partner, killing both of them.

He then dropped the desk as he and Rachel both took cover. Rachel stepped to the side and squeezed off a shot, shooting down another hostile before he could pull the trigger. The two remaining terrorists both reloaded and opened fire again on the desk. A bullet managed to penetrate and whizzed by Jack's ear. He picked up the desk again and charged, using it as a shield once more. First, Rachel raised her Uzi machine gun and fired blindly in the general direction of the terrorists, causing them to pause and take cover. Then without warning Jack dropped the desk and fired a well placed shot into the first man. The last terrorist opened fire at Jack but Jack was already taking cover on the floor. This time, Rachel popped up from the protective teachers desk and fired a shot into the terrorist's shoulder.

The hostile screamed and aimed once more but Rachel took him down for good with a burst that sent him flying against the blackboard, smearing it with a large bloodstain as he fell to the ground in the front of the classroom.

They quickly left the classroom and Jack tossed a grenade upward through a third floor hallway window as they reached the area overlooking the courtyard. Fortunately nobody saw them, just the third floor explosion. A terrorist was blown apart while another one was critically injured, losing his left arm down from the elbow and screaming uncontrollably. Several terrorists on the third floor across the courtyard fired blindly at the explosion site, screaming in Arabic. The injured terrorist continued screaming as his comrades checked all over the area on the third floor, until Khattab came over.

"Help me, Khattab," the disarmed terrorist begged, looking in shock as his severed arm.

Khattab knew there was no help available for his man. He pointed his AK47 and fired a quick burst into his head. "I will see you in paradise, mujahid."

Rachel dialed General Wasser, who was pacing around the mobile command post. Outside the school, night had fallen, and the suburban neighborhood was dotted with streetlights and the glow of downtown Tel Aviv in the distance. Lights were also on all over the neighborhood as residents all tried to see what was going on and get updates on the situation inside the school.

"What the hell is happening in there? I hear all the teams are gone!" Wasser exclaimed.

"Team Delta with Captain Henderson survived but they have a wounded man that needs immediate extraction. Their only option is through the bottom of the swimming pool. The schematics show a drainage system that leads into the sewers through there. I'm going to send you the coordinates right now. We believe a team of terrorists is approaching their position. They lost radio contact with the outside but I'm conveying this message for Captain Henderson."

"Shit," Wasser cursed. "Okay, Private, I will be sending some men down there immediately. And Private Friedman, I want you and Bauer extracted along with them if possible. That's an order."

"Sir, Henderson had expressed a desire to stay in the building as well, we don't know what the terrorists will do. We need to…."

"You've done enough, Friedman," Wasser insisted, "And I am still the commander here. I am in charge of the base and Henderson is here as our guest. We're going to extract all of you and regroup in a safe location before another rescue attempt is made and after we sort out exactly what the hell happened. You've done everything you can. We need to get you out."

Rachel couldn't respond at first. She knew how many times she and Jack had been close to death, but so far they had been the only ones to put a dent in the enemy's forces and were able to operate stealthily. Over a thousand innocent children were still being held hostage and God knows how Nakkash would respond to this first attempt. She was surprised to have not heard any explosions yet.

"Private Friedman, do you understand the orders I've just given you?" Wasser asked sternly.

"Yes…..yes, sir," Rachel finally replied. Jack agreed with Rachel's commander. At this point maybe it was best that they retreat and reassess the situation. Sooner or later their luck would run out and if anything, she shouldn't take it upon herself to finish this mission single handedly. On the other hand, Rachel found it difficult to just leave these kids, no matter the odds, and no matter what her orders were, but it wasn't fair to keep Jack here too since she knew he would not let her remain by herself. This was not his country. It was not his war.

"We'll return with another team, I promise," Jack said, "At least I will. I'll insist on it, Henderson owes me this much. I swear these bastards will pay for everything they've done today."

_Author's Note - Next chapter will probably be a longer one too but surprises are coming up. I don't know if having a swimming pool in a public Israeli high school is realistic but its to stage more actions scenes in a larger building with a diverse landscape! Thanks for the positive reviews so far I know this is not as quick a read as "Season 10: God's Country" because of the format but this is one of my stories with more conventional villains and I did want to show radical Islam in its full brutality. _


	9. Chapter 9

_Note - This story takes place in a world that resembles today's world but is not really today's world. I started writing this before Obama finally decided to confront ISIS and launch airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. For this story, assume that an Assad-type dictator is in power in Syria and that there is a global Islamic jihad similar to the Al-Qaeda threat. _

DAY ZERO CHAPTER 9

SWIMMING POOL AREA

Henderson was the first man leaving the locker door, emerging into the brightly-lit indoor pool area. He cursed the school for building an indoor facility even in the hot Mediterranean climate. Unlike an outdoor swimming pool, the indoor facility allowed for many overhangs and bleacher areas and access routes overlooking the pool where hostiles could attack from elevated positions. They needed to get the wounded man out as soon as possible. He was followed by Darius and Lance who scanned the area with their weapons.

"Bauer, Friedman, head here now, do you copy?"

"We copy," Jack replies into the cell phone.

Henderson checked with Wasser to make sure that the IDF team underneath the pool was clearing the way into the underground sewers and storm drains so that there would be no complications.

"I want all these entry points covered!" Henderson ordered his men. "Shoot any bastard that comes in. Bauer and Friedman will confirm because entering this area."

HIGH SCHOOL ROOFTOPS

Jack was greeted by a hail of gunfire as he stepped onto the ledge outside the second floor classroom. He flipped over onto the ground and fired back at two terrorists firing from higher up. One of them was Malik, who reloaded and squeezed off another few rounds.

Rachel slid out from under the window and fired a shot upward. The bullet went through a terrorist's chin and exited through his skull, sending him slumping onto the roof. She fired again but Malik had ducked away. Jack let out a stream of bullets the pocketed the walls and he saw two more terrorists coming from the roof.

"We need to make a dash for it!" Jack called out to Rachel.

"How wide is the gap?" she asks him in a concerned tone.

"Three feet, you can make it!" Jack replies. "We gotta get to the extraction point. Henderson and his men are there already. You're holding up great, you can do this! I have a good visual of the area from here. I'll make sure you're clear!"

Jack ran and leapt over the ledge as Malik opened fire again. As he did go, Rachel stepped backward quickly looking up and seeing a Hamas terrorist take aim. With perfect aim, Rachel fired more shots that went into the man's chest, sending him flying off the third floor rooftop screaming. If the gunshot wounds weren't fatal, the impact with the cement ground below certainly was. Rachel ran as fast as she could, forcing herself to pretend it was just that long jump when she was on her high school's track and field team two years ago. She did find Jack reassuring, and took comfort in knowing that he was as good at protecting her as he had promised. Thank God for Jack being here, Rachel thought to herself.

As she sailed over the gap, Jack provided cover fire, shooting down another terrorist who had appeared on the roof. He then saw Malik reloading again. When Malik whirled back around, Jack opened fire, shooting Malik through the throat sending blood spurting out like water from a broken pipe. This got the attention of the other jihadists around him and Jack and Rachel were able to get to temporary safety behind an air conditioning unit right above the locker room.

Jack then fired through the locks of a service door, going down a flight of stairs that took them to a hallway that circled the pool area. He heard more shouting in Arabic as Rachel covered him, seeing no hostiles yet.

"Sir, I'm in the hallway above your position," Jack said to Henderson.

"Roger, we're moving out now…shit!"

"Excuse me, sir?" Jack asked.

"We have hostiles coming from three directions, we're compromised. We need to move now!"

SWIMMING POOL AREA

Several doors burst open at once as the first wave of jihadis entered the pool area. Darius squeezed off two rounds with his M4 Carbine assault rifle, the bullets tearing through two charging jihadis, sending them sprawling onto the ground.

It didn't take Jack long to realize that he wasn't going to make it. There were too many hostiles converging and there would be nobody to provide cover fire for him. He heard a scream below as an American soldier was shot through the back, the Arabs laughing in glee as they continued to fire.

"Get up, Santos!" Henderson yelled at the fallen soldier as they return fire, causing the terrorists to duck temporarily. However another set of hostiles appeared on the opposite site of the pool. Santos, the fallen soldier, was nonresponsive. Darius checked his pulse and there was none. "Shit!"

"Sir, I think we should get the wounded out first, I won't be able to make it! I can take care of myself, we both know that."

Henderson was about to argue but knew Jack was right.

"We also need to get Private Friedman out of here!" Jack shouted through the gunfire. Jack squeezed off another round and took down one of the Arabs coming through the locker rooms. More Arabs emerged on the deck as Darius and Lance pulled the wounded soldier into the pool and swam toward the bottom.

"They're in the water!" a terrorist shouted in Arabic. "Yallah! Yallah!" He then pulled out his radio, calling for more backup but Rachel fired a bullet into his brain, cutting him off in mid-sentence.

"Rachel, you're going with them. We don't have much time," Jack said.

She shook her head. "We're in this together, Jack. There's no way in hell I'm just going to let these people kill you." She pulled Jack aside roughly as bullets hit the spot where Jack had just been standing. They were almost surrounded on three sides now. Rachel took her Uzi and provided cover fire for Jack as he reloaded and also for the Americans retreating through the pool. She fired nonstop for at least ten seconds, mowing down three of the Muslims that had just emerged on the pool deck, sending two of them falling into the pool and the other flying backward into the swim coach's office, shattering the glass separation between it and the pool deck.

"Dammit, Rachel, don't argue with me!" Jack insisted. "I promised to keep you safe and I'm keeping my word. You need to extract with Captain Henderson and the rest of the team."

"No Jack! You said we're both getting out of this together!" Rachel said back. "I'm not going to be to live with myself if we leave you here all by yourself and something happens to you!"

Everything seemed to pass by in slow motion for Rachel despite the shouts and flying bullets. She saw Jack aim again as muzzle flashes surrounded them on all sides. Below, the wounded American was pulled into the drainage system, emerging in the sewers below the pool. Rachel felt like she was in a dream, a nightmare that she just couldn't wake up from. There was no way this was really happening, her mind was telling her, but her senses reminded her that it was. And there was Jack Bauer next to her, doing everything he could to protect her and his brothers in arms trying to get through the pool. Rachel wasn't a particularly religious person despite growing up in the Jewish state. She rarely went to the synagogue aside from the major Jewish holidays but she told herself that God must be watching over them. That was the only explanation as to why they've made it this far when the original school security force and the rescue team had all been completely massacred.

Without warning, there was an underwater explosion at the far end of the pool as a bazooka detonated inside, the terrorist trying to aim for the underwater egress route. Another American fell wounded.

"So much for a simple amphibious extract," Henderson said. "You need to lay low until we come back, Bauer!"

"Sir, I have a plan. I can do what I can to keep them off balance while you regroup."

"And how the hell do you plan to do that?"

"I do speak Arabic, remember?" Jack said. "I got this, I promise. Sir you need to get down there now so we can find some cover."

Henderson and the last Americans disappeared under the surface of the pool. Jack and Rachel quickly took cover in the bleachers as the terrorists discharged dozens of rounds in their direction. A bullet went through Rachel's hair, sending a few strands flying toward Jack but he didn't alert her since they certainly wouldn't do either of them any good.

"I got the left side," Jack told Rachel. "Listen to the gaps in gunfire in each direction. You got shooters at your 4 o'clock and 5 o'clock positions near the scoreboards that must be taken out before we have a clear path out of here. I have this side."

She nodded. The gunfire from the two positions Jack mentioned died down for just two seconds as the terrorists made silent hand gestures to one another about where to aim next, but that was enough time for Rachel to emerge from the safety of the bleachers and shoot down one of the men. The other terrorist was alert but Rachel smartly rolled down a few levels on the bleachers and by the time the terrorist knew where she was his chamber was empty. The hostile fumbled with his gun a little but Rachel shot him through the chest twice from more than fifty feet away.

"Alright, let's make a run for it!" Jack said, Rachel following his lead as they rushed up the bleachers amid yet more shouting coming.

"In the name of Allah!" they suddenly heard as a terrorist popped up from nearby in the bleachers and screamed, firing wildly. Jack mentally estimated his path of motion and cut him down with a string of bullets, blood squirting in a trail behind him as he fell forward screaming and dying. One more terrorist appeared at the top of the bleachers and Jack dropped him with a quick burst from his Carbine.

Jack took down two more men in a matter of seconds and retreated into a hallway leading away from the pool. Rachel took down one more Arab before they left the pool area.

After a while there was a deafening silence. Rachel opened the door to the coaching staff offices in an area of the building that also housed the weight room and fitness center. "It's clear," she said, going in first and Jack following.

Jack motioned for her to stay silent as footsteps and Arabic shouting could be heard down the hall. A terrorist kicked open the door and sprayed the room with gunfire, shattering all the mirrors on the falls and demolishing two weight machines, sending weights crashing to the ground in deafening clangs. Rachel cringed and closed her eyes at the sound but maintained her silence. There was some more shouting, then the voices of the terrorists faded down the nearby corridor.

BACKSTAGE AREA

"Malik is dead! The Americans shot him as they were retreating! " Bilal said into the phone on the rooftop as stumbled onto his body.

"Allah's curse be upon them!" Nakkash screamed, his eyes wide with rage. "The infidel cowards!" He had known Malik for years, even since they first met in the Israeli prison. The Americans and Israelis will pay for this, Nakkash swore. Yet he took comfort in the knowledge that his brother in arms was in paradise with the 72 virgins that befitted such a proud and noble holy warrior.

"It is over?" Nakkash asked, looking at the signal indicator on his cell phone and shaking it in rage before pressing it back to the ear. He waved his arms widely, motioning for Khattab to double check the area close to the stage and auditorium. He then barked some orders for the terrorists to execute any wounded soldiers left behind in the chaos of battle.

"I think so," Bilal said on the other line, panting.

"What in blazes do you mean you 'think so'? What kind of answer is that?" Nakkash demanded.

"We cleared the area, Emir!" Bilal replied quickly. "The American squad had made it through. We tried to cut off their escape at the pool and killed at least two of them but they retreated into the water."

_"Wald ir qaraqir! Nayaak ghbar!" _Nakkash swore angrily. "I knew we should have rigged the sewers below the pool too."

"They surprised us this time and it wasn't on their initial plan, but the Americans' quick thinking will only get them so far. We are still in control, Emir," Malik said. "Victory is within sight."

"You're right, Bilal. I will make the Americans pay for their arrogance. They despise us, but we will make them fear and respect us"

BAND ROOM / BACKSTAGE AREA

At least they had let the hostages use the restroom less than an hour ago. Erika Rogers was surprised at how something as little as this was to be almost celebrated given her circumstances. Likewise, her spirits had actually rose slightly upon hearing the crackle of gunfire echoing through the halls and the distant explosions rocking the building as it meant a rescue operation was underway. Her heart sank to a place lower than she even knew existed as the gunfire died down, replaced only by the victorious and taunting shouts in Arabic, mixed with angry Koranic incantations. The only Arabic she could pick out was _kafir_, or infidel along with _Allah akbar._ She had learned those from her boyfriend who had served in Afghanistan with the Marines. Nakkash and Khattab stormed into the room, waving their guns around. David Glick held Erika's hand tight, whispering for her to remain calm.

David was nervous, yes, but angry and disgusted at the same time. There were more than two dozen Islamic nations, yet his people, the Jews, couldn't even have one sliver of land without radical Islam's irrational hatred and bloodthirst coming down upon them. Even back in the United States, the Islamic American Alliance refused to denounce Hamas as a terrorist group. David knew from the look on Nakkash and Khattab's faces that they were about to pick out more hostages to execute, this time among the Americans.

Nakkash went over to an attractive female college student named Nicole, who had a nice but quiet personality. He whipped her across the face with his assault rifle then grabbed her hand and yanked her out of her seat and yelled at the hostages. "I warned your governments against trying to retake this building! American soldiers participated in this attack that killed many of our brothers! I should kill all of you! I should detonate this building and avenge the blood of our martyrs! You Americans think your lives are worth more than ours? The planes and drones Israelis use to carry out their aggression against Palestine are all made in America!"

Erika and most of the other hostages shuddered in fear. She hasn't been following the news carefully but still knew about the gruesome kidnapping and beheadings that had taken place across the Middle East. She did catch Nakkash's unintended admission in the middle of his rant that the American and Israeli soldiers had killed several of the terrorists, but this just might make Nakkash and the surviving Hamas fighters even more unhinged. "Your President Ryan's friend, Prime Minister Weinstein will now learn that the price for challenging me is severe. Two of your fellow citizens will pay with their blood. We would be well within our rights to kill every single one of you."

Nakkash walked directly over to Erika and she froze, silently pleading against hope that she would not be chosen. Next to her, David gave Nakkash a look of pure loathing and hatred, getting his attention. "You, come with me!" he barked harshly at David. Erika held his hand tight. She had been annoyed at David's crazy antics and drunken advances during this trip but there was no way he deserved this. David accepted his face with a stronger resolve than most of them would have, simply nodding his compliance to Nakkash and standing up. David was raised as an ardent Zionist in a typical New York Jewish family, and it was always his dream to come to Israel.

"I'm so sorry," Erika mouthed, tears falling down her face.

"It's okay," David said to her, "This is my homeland and I'm finally here."

Nicole, on the other hand, couldn't get herself to move as Nakkash ordered, and the terrorist slapped her across the face and dragged her toward the door. "You will do as I say, or I will kill one of your friends! And you will still die! Is that what you want?" Nakkash screeched loudly and fired several bullets into the back wall, shattering a display case. "IS IT?"

Nicole broke down crying. "Please….sir…..I….I'm sorry about what's happening in your country." She desperately hoped that referring to Palestinian sovereignty would stir some kind of mercy in Nakkash, but the terrorist leader's mind was set.

"I see you don't consider Israel your home like your friend here does. You are an American first and a Jew second, but I hate both equally." Nakkash retorted harshly. "You Americans are worse than the Soviets the mujahideen fought in Afghanistan. You are proud of your democracy, the government of the people, by the people, you call it. It was the American people who elected President Ryan, who killed tens of thousands of Iranians when they tried to liberate Saudi Arabia, who murders innocent Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan and desecrates the holiest shrines of Islam! You support the apostate regimes in Pakistan in their war against the mujahideen! You murder the jihadi leaders of Somalia with your drones. You are just as guilty as your government. You are all enemies of Islam!"

"Please don't hurt anyone else," Nicole cried, mustering all the bravery she had to spare the lives of any more innocent children in this room. Nakkash and Khattab herded David and Nicole out of the room but dispatched an extra terrorist to guard the remaining hostages.

BACKSTAGE AREA

Soon thereafter they were up in the backstage area where the cameras and videoconference equipment was set up. Nakkash adjusted the checkered Arabian kaffiyeh he was wearing, making sure the Palestinian colors were prominently visible. The two Americans and six Israeli hostages were kneeling at gunpoint in front of the Hamas and Palestinian banners with several other masked terrorists visible in the video. Instead of a gun, however, Nakkash held a curved Arab scimitar in one hand, and a Koran in the other.

"I have Qatar on the line," Khattab said, "Al-Jazeera has you on a live feed. The other networks, including Fox News, are broadcasting on a delay, of course, but every major news station in the world is receiving this." Nakkash nodded and prepared to speak.

"Less than two hours ago," Nakkash said into the camera, "We, Allah's warriors, proved to the Zionist enemy and their American allies that we are men of our word. Instead of easing the aggression and humiliation of the proud Arab people, the Israel Defense Forces, with direct support from United States Army personnel, attempted a foolish operation to retake this building. The mujahideen of Hamas resisted and defeated this attack against us.

" Three of our men have martyred themselves for the cause and they now rest in paradise," he said, purposely understating the casualties Hamas suffered, "But we have killed every Israeli and American soldier who entered this building. However, the Jews and the Americans shall pay for their actions with the lives of their citizens."

Nakkash thuggishly walked over to the hostages, going to Nicole first.

"The world is watching this, _kafir_. What is your name?" he demanded.

"Nicole Katz," she chocked.

"How old are you? Where are you from?" Nakkash asked while looking into the camera with a demented smile.

"I…I'm 19 years old. I'm from Denver, Colorado."

"What message do you have for the world?" Nakkash demanded in a chilling tone of voice, his eyes wide and delusional. "Speak up, tell them, American." He then whispers just loud enough for her to hear. "Remember what you practiced. I can always bring more of your friends here."

"What's happening to me is because of the U.S. and Israeli imperialists and their refusal to negotiate with the Hamas freedom fighters who seek to the liberation of Palestine. Do as they ask, and stop the American imperialism and aggression against Islam, including but not limited to our support for the Israeli occupation. If not, the jihad will only continue."

Nakkash stepped forward with the scimitar and with the cameras rolling, beheaded Nicole in one swift swing of the blade. He went over to David, who was glad he wasn't the one forced to recite the terrorists' lines. He probably would have gotten smart with Nakkash and stated the obvious truth that Hamas alone was responsible for what was happening. He swung the blade again, slicing off David's head. Nakkash then gruesomely picked up the two decapitated heads and held them victoriously in front of the camera. "Allah akbar!"

Even the Al-Jazeera studio worker in Qatar thought that enough was broadcasted, but the higher ups in the Arabic CNN insisted that the beheadings of the six Israeli students also be shown live. After all, they couldn't guarantee that Al-Arabiya or Palestinian TV wouldn't continue the broadcast, and that would affect their ratings.

DEFENSE MINISTRY, JERUSALEM

"Sir, with all due respect, they're under pressure from the Israeli public to do the opposite," Ambassador Scott Cornett said into the phone to the State Department. "The public here is sick and tired of terrorism, they know this will not end just because they give in. You do not truly understand traditional Arab Muslim culture. Any kind of capitulation or any willingness to negotiate is seen as a sign of weakness, an vindication of their philosophy that if they use enough violence and terrorism, they can get what they want."

"It's not our concern what the public over there thinks about their government handling of the situation," the Secretary of State said, "My concern, _our _concern is for the lives of our citizens. I understand they chose to ignore a State Department issued travel advisory by going to Israel at this time, but the viewers of Fox News and CNN won't give a rat's ass. As tough as President Ryan is, he wants to avoid another Middle Eastern engagement if possible, which may be hard if the American people start calling for blood against Hamas's supporters elsewhere in the region. As you can imagine, the Democrats are already out for blood."

Cornett hated the idea of those Birthright Israel trips. American citizens really shouldn't be traveling to Israel at all and this put the State Department in a difficult situation. Yes that discovering your roots thing is interesting, if you were going someplace like Scotland, but certainly not the middle of an on-and-off war zone. Israel's relative calm was a veneer that could be shattered at any moment, as this day's events proved.

"We're just buying time anyway, remember that," the SecState said, "I only hope the military, both ours and theirs, have better plans coming up."

"Yes, sir, I'll convey this message to the Prime Minister."

"You've done good so far, Scott," the SecState said, "I won't forget your performance when we narrow down the choices for the Amsterdam embassy. You may well be able to come back deeper into the civilized world."

Cornett wearily put down the phone. He did feel like he was at the edge of civilization, with the darkness closing in on all directions. Beyond Jerusalem, Israel's enemies stretched for thousands of miles all the way to Pakistan. No doubt many of them were closely watching the developments at Ariel Sharon High School, the aftermath of the Tel Aviv bombings, and the Israeli government's response to the current crisis. In cities across the Muslim world, the scene resembled that on September 11th, 2001. Celebratory crowds gathered in public squares shouting Islamic slogans and firecrackers echoed through the open air bazaars. Cornett was especially concerned for his State Department colleagues in the region. The US embassies in Islamabad, Beirut, Cairo, and Riyadh were under emergency lockdown by the Marines as the Pentagon feared a repeat of the Benghazi consulate attack which was made possible by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's mismanagement of the situation.

Everything here certainly was upside down, Cornett thought. America's founding fathers were men who believed in unalienable human rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They were the farmers and shopkeepers who stared down the British Army and stood their ground at Lexington and Concord. If Palestine ever became an independent state, their founding fathers would be hostage takers and suicide bombers. How would future generations of Palestinians learn their history? Would they be proud of it the way the crowds in Gaza City were proud of Nakkash Bin Rahal?

The toughness and confidence commonly seen among the Israeli government officials were not holding up the way it typically did, Cornett noticed. Nakkash Bin Rahal had not led Hamas for long, but he had already managed to bring Israel to a brink in a way that the decades of armed conflict previously couldn't. Deep inside, Timur Sokolow was gloating, wishing he was there in the streets celebrating with the Palestinians but he had to keep his cover intact, at least for now. The rest of the plan hinged on this.

"Mr. Cornett, on behalf of the entire State of Israel and myself personally, I offer my deepest condolences to your country for the deaths of these two innocent American children," Prime Minister Weinstein said as Cornett entered the briefing room.

"The President does the same regarding the Israeli victims and the soldiers who have lost their lives so far today," Cornett replied, looking around the room. "At the same time, my President, the senior members of his administration, and my own superiors at the U.S. State Department are extremely concerned about the further loss of innocent life, both American and Israeli, if we continue on our current path."

"Ambassador, are you out of your mind? You can't possibly be suggesting that we show any weakness or express any willingness to compromise with that subhuman scum!" Defense Minister Moshe Doron blurted out. Cornett had expected Prime Minister Weinstein to rebuke Doron on his lack of decorum in this diplomatic exchange, but Weinstein did nothing, showing his tacit approval at Doron's sentiments.

"I'm not talking about giving in to their demands, of course not, but we need to buy some time as we prepare another assault." He almost mentioned having "assets available" within the school to help coordinate another rescue incursion, but bit his tongue. Henderson had insisted for operational security reasons that this information not be shared with the Israelis. The possibility of a leak somewhere was too high. "We don't know where our security was compromised but we have additional forces who have arrived from Camp Patriot, Kuwait, in the past hour."

"So what are you, or your government proposing, Mr. Ambassador?" Weinstein asked.

"A temporary withdraw from the Golan Heights and some of the West Bank settlements, to make Bin Rahal believe we are negotiating in good faith. This will buy us a temporary reprieve without any additional hostages being executed. Let me be transparent with you, gentlemen. The liberal left back home along with many elements of the American news media have tried to attack the President every way they can. They can and will use the deaths of these two American kids as a political weapon against President Ryan."

"You really believe this?" Doron asked. "The other major party in America will stoop to such lows? They have no decency at all?"

"That is correct," Cornett said bluntly. This wasn't the time to mince words, but to make his case the way his superiors needed him to. "Because of your country's history of tribulation, there is a sense of brotherhood that doesn't exist in mine, even among your political opponents. I've been in politics for a long time. I've been exposed to a lot. There is no sense of honor or decency when it comes to the American left and their friends in the media. You grew up in the synagogue, I grew up in the Southern Baptist church, but we both believe in a God. The liberal left in America worships only themselves and their ideology. Last month, in West Virginia, a Republican candidate for the state legislature lost her mother to a heart attack. Protestors unofficially sanctioned by the Democrat Party including pro-abortion activists picketed outside the funeral home during the viewing. This woman could no longer withstand the pressure and withdrew from the race. The Democrats who controlled the state election commission barred the Republicans from filling that spot with another candidate, thus leaving a liberal Democrat running unopposed."

Cornett continued. "And in a race this close, we can't afford this. I'm going to put this in the open. Ryan's Democrat opponent will not be anywhere as friendly to Israel as he is, and that is the honest to God truth. His campaign manager was involved in the Israel boycott movement at the University of Michigan. If he wins, you're looking at the cancellation of several major military deals, including the Anderson Aerospace Corporation's UAW stealth components and Ballard Technologies cruise missile guidance systems. He will certainly also reduce economic assistance to your government. If another American citizen is beheaded on live international television, the Democrats and their friends in the U.S. media will go after President Ryan with their gloves off. If you want to help your country, please take our advice into consideration."

Weinstein turned to IDF Chief of Staff Sokolow. "General Sokolow, how can this be done logistically? Carrying out a potential withdrawal as we prepare another hostage rescue operation?"

Sokolow got up and displayed a large digital map of Israel, the Palestinian territories, and neighboring countries on the large plasma screen that covered the entire wall of the conference room. "We will of course start with the most distant settlements, such as the ones around Jericho. Most of them are small outposts populated by religious Orthodox Jews."

"Could there be armed resistance by our own people there?" Doron asked.

"That can be avoided," Sokolow said. "What happened when we withdrew from the Gaza Strip was a close enough call. The Orthodox radicals can be dangerous, but we will simply warn them and withdraw our military protection from those settlements. This is in line with what Bin Rahal has said and we will be giving the settlers fair warning."

"But what about their homes, their properties and their possessions?" Doron exclaimed. "The Arabs will loot and ransack the communities the moment the residents and military abandon them."

"They will be compensated for that," Sokolow said. "Starting with the Jericho area will give us the time we need. That will be within Bin Rahal's timetable. Nazareth, East Jerusalem, Hebron, that won't be affected. We will be back in control of the school by then."

Sokolow shifted their attention to the Golan Heights. "This is where the situation is far less than ideal. We currently have two armored brigades in the Golan Heights. Both can pull back to the 1967 borders with Syria and maintain a defensive position east of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. We don't know if Bin Rahal has been in contact with the Syrian government or they have simply been observing today's developments, but three Syrian Army armored divisions backed by close air support are heading toward the Golan from Damascus, Aleppo, and Raqqa. At least within the next few hours, we predict they will enter the Golan Heights which eliminates our buffer zone. From there, the Syrians are within striking distance of more than a third of our country."

"This is a preposterous situation," Weinstein exclaimed. "We all know of the Golan Heights' strategic significance. Losing that buffer zone against Syria is unacceptable. We also know that Iran as well as terrorist elements from Pakistan and Afghanistan are increasingly involved in Syria, both with the regime and with the Islamists."

"Yes, sir, that is what I am suggesting," Sokolow said. "We must put our nuclear forces on high alert immediately upon activating this plan. We have more than a dozen low-yield nuclear weapons in the Dimona research complex that can be easily transported by military convoy and deployed through the Ballard Technologies mobile launchers. Mr. Prime Minister, I advise that you use our back channels with Damascus and inform the Syrian leadership in no uneven terms that Israel will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to ensure our national survival, and that any breach of the 1967 border will justify the use of these weapons and the complete destruction of Syria's military capabilities."

Weinstein nodded and looked at every man in the room. "We will begin the initial withdraw from the Jericho settlements and begin pulling back our brigades from the Golan Heights, but I am calling up the reserves on emergency notice and I want a new defense line in Galilee. Ambassador Cornett, what satellites does the United States have over the region? I believe given the circumstances its reasonable for my government to request assistance while this crisis is ongoing."

"Everything the Agency has is classified, but the DOD has two birds over the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. I'll contact the Pentagon and have them redirected. I'm sure our friends at DOD and IDF can liaison with one another."

"Thank you, ambassador," Prime Minster Weinstein said, "We can't leave any gap in flyover coverage. I want up to the minute updates on the Syrian Army's progress. General Sokolow, I also want Dimona on red alert. Make sure the mobile nuclear launchers are ready to be deployed as soon as I give the order. I only pray it will not come to that."

FITNESS CENTER/BACKSTAGE AREA

Nakkash hung the bloody scimitar on the wall and whirled around when he heard his pager sound again. It said "Farad" on it. So where was that bastard? Where had he been up to all this time?

"Farad!? I should slit your throat just like I did these infidels!" Nakkash immediately screamed. "Where in blazes have you been? What in the name of Allah have you been up to?"

"And you still wonder?" the voice on the other end said in perfect Arabic without the trace of a foreign accent. "You've never realized your arrogance and insolence? I never expected you to. You think I really would just serve you like a slave so easily?"

"What in blazes is this, Farad? We are at war! The Israelis and Americans, yes, uniformed US Army soldiers, just attacked us! Where were you when they killed Malik? Are you even aware that Malik was martyred? You will report immediately, Farad, or I shall have your head, I swear in the name of the Prophet!" Nakkash screamed into the phone, attracting the attention of Khattab and the other terrorists gathered around.

"You think the glory is all yours?" the Arabic voice continued. "My brother, my cousins, we sacrificed, we bled and died for the jihad and you brushed us aside for your own glory. You think that we Shia are nothing, that the glory of Allah belongs only to you."

"The past, still? YOU?" Nakkash demanded angrily. "The leaders of your clan did not share Allah's vision for Palestine. I was willing to overlook this. We took you in and accepted you as a brother, you Lebanese Shiite dog!"

"I am a son of Palestine! My father is Palestinian! The blood of Palestine runs in my veins!" Jack screamed back, imitating what the dead Farad would probably have said if this situation was true. "The blood of my fathers also runs through me! You murdered my uncle in Beirut, you humiliated my clan! I will not allow you to take the glory today. In fact, the Americans and Israelis didn't kill all of your dead men. I killed many of them!"

"I will find you, you son of a Shiite whore, and your death will not be quick, I swear to Allah!" Nakkash threatened, panting breathlessly. Besides the Jews and Christians, it was the Shiites that Nakkash Bin Rahal despised the most. At least the Christians and Jews made it clear that they were enemies of Islam. The Shiites claimed to be Muslims, to worship Allah and follow the hadiths, yet they blaspheme Allah's name and make a mockery of the Koran."

"Go ahead and destroy this building! You don't have the balls to do it and martyr yourself. You send Sunni pigs like Malik and Osama to die for you. You know the Israelis will never give in to your demands. No doubt your friend in the Israeli government will find a way to get you out safely." Jack didn't actually know about Timur Sokolow being a Muslim terrorist, but he knew there had to be a Hamas mole somewhere in order for them to do everything they've done today.

"You petty, cursed apostate swine!" Nakkash spat out, "What I did was for Islam! You are helping the imperialists!"

"I care about the honor of the Zubaydah clan," Jack continued to imitate in Arabic. "You were so thirsty for power, so desperate for support it was so easy convincing you I put this cause first, before honor. We Arabs fought the Jews since 1948 to regain honor. What about the honor of my clan? The blood that matters most is that of my clan, whom you have wronged and in accordance with the ancient codes I seek vengeance. Nothing was more important to me than the honor of my tribe and clan. You and your Sunni friends violated this when you made war against us in Lebanon. Now I will take what is most important to you, your victory. I don't care about the Zionists or the Americans one way or another. The spirits of my father and uncles cry out from the grave for vengeance."

Earlier, Henderson had given Jack the background on Farad Zubaydah, the terrorist he had tortured for information on the hostages' whereabouts. It turned out he had joined Hamas after one of the many bouts of intra-Palestinian factional fighting that took place in the Palestinian quarters of Beirut. His father and uncles had indeed been killed by Nakkash's Hamas faction, so the story Jack made up was believable. To complement his military training, Jack had studied the Arab culture quite extensively and was able to wing it pretty accurately. Evidently Nakkash had completely fallen for it. As much as Nakkash fought the Israelis, he was always wary of the other Palestinian factions, especially the traditional tribes who engaged in blood feuds to this day.

"You put these backwards codes before Palestine and Islam? I will get my hands on you Farad, I will make you die a thousand deaths! I have friends everywhere in Lebanon, each and every remaining member of your apostate Shiite family will be slaughtered slowly, one by one. Your uncles, aunts, second cousins, third cousins, they will be executed publicly. Their mutilated bodies will be hung from the trees all over Beirut for all to see! When we find you we will use you to practice how to torture the next Israeli soldier we capture, and this video will be sent to the IDF to instill fear in their cowardly hearts!"

Nakkash hurled the radio against the cinder block wall, shattering it into dozens of sparkling pieces. He then kicked the broken radio, sending more sparks flying into the air.

"I will find that Shiite dog, Emir," Khattab promised. "I will slit his throat in accordance with the sharia laws."

"I want him alive!" Nakkash told him, shaking. "I will make Farad Zubaydah pay for this treachery. His death will be unlike any I've ever afflicted on anyone."

FITNESS CENTER

Jack updated Rachel on the plan. Until the next rescue attempt came, probably in an hour or so, they would attack Nakkash's men from the shadows and keep them off balance, getting as close to the hostages as they can and wearing down the terrorist forces. Pretending to be Farad Zubaydah was the only way they could engage Hamas without Nakkash threatening to execute more hostages to force their surrender. They heard voices shouting angrily in Arabic as the terrorists' beepers alerted them to be on the lookout for "Farad" in addition to another incursion by the Army or IDF.

Rachel caught a glimpse of two terrorists approaching the fitness center and nudged Jack, motioning for him to fall down. They lacked silenced weapons, but the school was large enough that gunfire here would not alert the rest of the terrorists. However they wanted to kill from a distance away from the door, not knowing how many more hostiles lurked on the other side.

Jack hurled a throwing knife into the first man's forehead, the man collapsing backward and Rachel did the same to the second. The terrorist pulled the knife out of his throat and tried to scream but only gurgled on his own blood as he died. This did however attract the attention of more hostiles who came running.

Jack saw three terrorists through the glass approaching the gym and opened fire, mowing them down in quick succession. Two more came from the other end and tossed a grenade. Jack and Rachel retreated into the weight room beyond the treadmill and elliptical area as the explosion demolished all the gym equipment and the terrorists fired a barrage of automatic weapons fire through the smoke.

"We know you are here, Farad! Come out if you want mercy!" a terrorist taunted.

Jack and Rachel were both covered in Arab kaffiyehs worn by the terrorists so their faces were unseen by the enemy. Rachel fired first, hitting a terrorist in the chest as another one rolled a second grenade, this one into the weight room. Jack and Rachel took cover behind some heavy weights.

"I'm going to go for it before the smoke clears," Jack whispered to Rachel, picking up a set up heavy metal dumbbells. "I'm going to go for the first man with this."

She nodded. "Okay, got it Jack." She slung her Uzi over her shoulder and made sure it was fully loaded. Rachel also made a mental note to stock up on the armory in the weight room area, one that the terrorists haven't been able to hack into.

"Is he dead?" a voice said in Arabic.

"Emir Nakkash wants him alive if possible!" another said, followed by Arabic profanity.

Jack sensed the first terrorist coming through the smoke and bashed him as hard as he could in the head with the dumbbell, shattering his skill and sending him slumping down to the ground in a heap. Jack then saw the second man coming and jammed the dumbbell into his groin, the man screaming. Jack then took his knife and sliced his neck open.

In a split second, Rachel stepped into an area where the smoke was clearing and saw that the terrorists were distracted, except for one more that charged at Jack through the smoke, pulling his gun. Jack fired and shot the man in the leg but the terrorist kept coming, screaming in Arabic and tearing at Jack's face.

Rachel took aim at the two terrorists, shooting them down in a row, some of the bullets ricocheting off the weight lifting equipment. Two more terrorists entered the room. "I will kill you Farad!" Rachel quickly killed the first one with a shot to the chest but the two others opened fire. She went behind a leg and bench press machine as the bullets hit the machines, bouncing back. She shot a terrorist in the foot, sending his screaming to the ground, then finished him off with a burst to the head.

The terrorist attacking Jack screamed wildly, kicking Jack's gun away. Jack punched him in the face and kicked him as hard as he could in the solar plexus. The heavyset Muslim grunted in pain but kneed Jack in the chest, knowing the wind out of him. He then kicked Jack in the stomach.

"Ahhhhh! Farad, I got you! I will bring you to the Emir!" the jihadi screamed. "_Ibh Al- Sharmoota!"_ He continued to pummel Jack as Jack reached for a small but heavy set of weights.

Rachel ducked behind another machine as bullets hit the spot where she was just at. Rachel squeezed off a long burst of fire from her Uzi but the Arab was also gone. Then she saw his reflection on a mirror and knew his exact position. Rachel side stepped past a weight machine and gunned him down. At the same time, Jack took all the strength he had in him and jammed the weight into the mouth of the jihadi attacking him, knocking all of his teeth out. The jihadi looked at Jack in a rage and Jack slammed him into the wall.

Jack tore off his kaffiyeh so the terrorist could see his face.

The Muslim's eyes went wide in pain and fear. "You American infidel!" he struggled to say through his broken mouth.

"That's right. I just wanted you to know," Jack said before he bashed in the terrorist's skull with the weight, hearing a squishy sound as the jihadi's brain imploded.

DEFENSE MINISTRY

The withdraw began as promised, with IDF security forces pulling back from the Jewish settlements around Jericho in the easternmost portion of the West Bank. The head rabbi of one of the small settlements made sure the media networks throughout Israel and the West knew of the government decision to abandon them, even temporarily. All of this land belonged to Israel, the rabbi said. It was written in the Torah as well as in the Bible. This was all part of the Promised Land and the Muslims had no legitimate claim to it. He called Prime Minister Weinstein a coward for "surrendering" to terrorism. The rabbi pointed out that the events in Tel Aviv only further emphasized the importance to maintaining the West Bank as a buffer zone against the Islamic nations seeking to destroy Israel.

Refusing to evacuate, the rabbi and several of his followers took up arms defending the settlement, engaging in a twenty minute shootout with an armed Palestinian faction. The rabbi and seventeen other Israelis were killed along with twenty three Palestinian gunmen. The Middle Eastern news media had a live broadcast as the Israeli flag over the Jericho settlement was torn down, riddled with gunfire, and then set aflame, replaced by a Palestinian flag and several Islamic banners. As much of a PR disaster this was for the Israeli government both domestically and throughout the West, there was worse news to come.

Timur Sokolow rushed quickly into the large situation room where the map was still on display.

"I assume you have an update on Syria?" Defense Minister Doron said. Ambassador Cornett looked at the map intently.

"Yes," Sokolow panted, "My office was just contacted by the commander of the UN contingent in the Golan Heights. There's been a skirmish between the UN peacekeeping force and the 4th mechanized division. The Syrian commander ordered that the peacekeepers vacate the Golan. When they refused, the Syrians responded with an artillery barrage that killed more than forty Japanese peacekeepers. The UN contingent returned fire and destroyed seven Syrian Army tanks but the Syrian advance is continuing. They will be inside the Golan Heights within the hour. The other units from Aleppo and Raqqa are continuing to advance. That is several times the number of soldiers they need to hold just the Golan Heights."

"You're saying they're actually going to invade northern Israel?" Weinstein exclaimed. "They certainly don't waste any time."

"The time for peace is over!" Doron shouted. "There has never been a chance for peace. That is not a word in the Arabs' vocabulary. All they know is jihad and war. They have never recognized our country. They will invade as far as they can while our hands are tied. I wouldn't be surprised if Damascus knew about Bin Rahal and supported him"

"Have you been in contact with Damascus?" Sokolow asked.

"Our contact there has not replied back with a message from the Syrian President," Weinstein said glumly.

"In that case I must concur with Minister Doron and recommend that we activate the nuclear option immediately. Nothing will stop the Syrian forces from going beyond the Golan and into Israel proper. All our buffer zones, everything we have fought for and held since 1967 will be gone. We are facing a second Holocaust. Each and every one of those Syrian soldiers, like each fighter in Hamas, has our annihilation on his mind. They will murder every man, woman, and child in whatever area they occupy. Our forces in the north are outnumbered. Sir, we have no other option. This is why we developed our nuclear program in the first place."

Cornett didn't know what to say so he remained silent. The developments from Syria were certainly concerning. Nothing he could say would change the Israelis' minds anyway.

"Call Dimona," Weinstein told Sokolow. "I want the warheads you had mentioned earlier placed in those mobile launchers and transported toward the Syrian border."

_Trivia: the Anderson Aerospace Corporation and Ballard Technologies are companies that Heller and Audrey worked for according to the 24 files on the old website. The Islamic American Alliance was featured in Season 6. _

"Yes, sir," Sokolow replied then walked back toward his office.


End file.
